The Count
by TheKingsHorseAndTheKingsMen
Summary: Abraham couldn't bring himself to understand anything about it. The way it acted before its capture, was completely different than how he acted now. He expected the beast to yell, scream and hiss at him or anyone that got near it. Sadness and empathy were not something he was expecting. What was he thinking when he brought it back to England with them? Why was it acting this way?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Firstly, I am not trying to shit all over anyone's religion or beliefs. I'm not religious myself, but that doesn't mean that I am actually trying to disrespect anyone's beliefs, this is just a story. That being said, I have never actually read the book that the anime is loosely based off. This is also fanfiction, so of course things are going to be made up along the way. I'm sorry for going back and forth between "him" and "it".** **I do not hate on anyone's religion. Personally I am not religious and I do not agree with some of the things said in most religions, but I do respect those who believe in their religion's rules, as long as they do not harm anyone or try and force their beliefs on another. That being said, Alucard's past, that the anime/manga gives, plus the religious disputes that happened in Vlad the Impaler's life, I am making him hostile towards any and all religion, ranging from Christians to Buddhists.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality.** **Religion and Religion Bashing (** **I do not hate on anyone's religion. Personally I am not religious and I do not agree with some of the things said in most religions, but I do respect those who believe in their religion's rules, as long as they do not harm anyone or try and force their beliefs on another. That being said, Alucard's past, that the anime/manga gives, plus the religious disputes that happened in Vlad the Impaler's life, I am making him hostile towards any and all religions.)** **.**

 **\- Written: 5/28/16 - 6/29/16**

 **\- Edited: 9/10/16: Now I am sure that I missed some things, but I did fix a lot of my mistakes as well.**

 **\- Chapter 1: The Offer**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

Abraham sighed as he watched the vampire from behind the thick silver and steel door that opened the the small cell the beast was being kept in. A small opening in the top of the door, really not worth being called a window, was the only way to view the creature. He couldn't bring himself to understand anything about it. The way it acted before its capture, was completely different than how he acted now. He expected the beast to yell, scream and hiss at him or anyone that got near it. Instead it just stayed lying on the floor of it's cell, with it's arms tied behind it at an angle that had dislocated the monsters shoulders. It hadn't even tried to escape after its first failed attempt. It's hair had long since turned white and thin as the vampire starved. He could tell just how thin the monster had gotten and was confused as to how it's clothes didn't look the least bit baggy on it.

Any attempt to get it to speak were ignored. He couldn't even get it to speak by hurting it. Holy water, silver, sunlight and many other things hadn't caused it to so much as flinch. He thought that he heard it speak one day, about a month ago. Whatever it has said though, wasn't anything he could understand as he was sure it was speaking in Romanian. He knew it could speak English and several other languages, as it had spoken to them in English before and from what he could gather from Mina, it knew at least four other languages fluently and could identify many others without having to hardly think about it. The thought of what it had done to Mina instantly angered him again and he couldn't help but scowl at the beast. The poor woman had come back with them, but she was slowly starting to lose herself to the thing that it had made her into.

There was no known cure and their only hope to save the woman, was to get Dracula to speak to them. To at least tell them if there was a cure or not, so that if there wasn't they could end her life while she still had some of her humanity. Hopefully, if it came to that, she wouldn't be sent to Hell for what that monster had done to her. If they couldn't figure this out soon, she would eventually give into the blood lust and she would be forever lost. They'd already lost Lucy and Quincy, and he didn't want to be forced to end the life of another friend.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard something from Dracula's cell. When his eyes focused on the beast again, he nearly jumped back in surprise. It was now standing, hunched slightly as the chain that held it's arms to the floor wasn't all that long. It's eyes, even now dull with starvation and the abuse that they'd inflicted on it, held amusement. Once he saw the look in it's eyes, he was able to determine the noise he'd heard. The monster was chuckling at him. His face hardened into a scowl again as he realized it was mocking him.

"What are you laughing at, Monster." He asked, hiding the anger in his voice. It would only serve to amuse the monster more if it realize how angry he was at it for simply chuckling at him.

"What god do you pray to?" It suddenly asked, tilting it's head slightly causing it's hair to fall over it's shoulder and revealing his right eye. "From the cross you carry... I would say Catholic." He gave a small laugh. "Does it anger you?" He then asked as he watched his captor. "That your god does not answer your prayers?"

"What makes you think He doesn't?" Abraham asked as he crossed his arms. He didn't want to give into the monsters taunting, but if he could get it to speak, he might get the answers he needs to save Mina or end her life before she loses herself.

Dracula smiled at this. "Why else would you be watching me?" He then asked, tilting his head to the other side hiding his right eye and showing his left. "Human curiosity does not last this long without further exploration." He stated as he rolled his shoulders, grinning at the popping sounds they made as they tried to get back into place. "I've been at your mercy for two months and you have done nothing other than try and get me to speak." He said and then grinned again. "I can feel her. Feel her growing blood lust. We still have a connected, Van Helsing. I am surprised she has yet to lose control. I know what she feels, what she wishes for..."

Abraham's eyes showed slight confused as the best trailed off. His voice changed towards the end of that sentence... It was slight, but he was sure that he heard sadness in it. Why would a monster like this show even a glimpse of sadness for the woman? If anything it should show joy.

"It is how I know that she prays constantly." Instead of sadness in his voice when he began again, it was disgust. "She prays to a god who doesn't give a damn about her, who doesn't give a damn about anything on this world." He said as he forced himself, against his bindings, to stand at his full height. Abraham almost winced at the sound of the monsters elbows and wrists popping out of place to allow this movement. "She may not beginning to lose faith... but I can see it in you, Van Helsing." He purred. "You're beginning to lose the faith that she refuses to give up."

"I have not lost my faith." Abraham said with a shake of his head. "Even if we are not able to save her from you, God will judge her as He sees fit. The same He will do to you when you finally die for good." The hysterical laughing the beast gave at that response, causing Abraham to take half a step back.

"There is nothing that God could do to me, that would phase me." It said as he looked at Abraham, it's eyes burning brightly once more. "Anything he could do wouldn't be anything like the things I've seen, done and been through..." It laughed again.

Abraham was silent as he thought. "You speak of when you were human." He stated. The monster grinned at him again, telling him he was correct. "There is not pain on Earth, that would equal to the punishment that God will inflict on you."

"You think so?" It asked with a purr in his voice. "You don't get it, do you Van Helsing?" It asked slowly. "What you see before you, this-" It stopped and laughed. "This thing that I am, is the very core of human nature."

"You're wrong." Abraham insisted as he shook his head, glaring at the beast.

"Am I?" It asked as it fell silent for a few moments. Abraham was about to speak when it opened it's mouth again. "The very core of human nature, is domination. The desire to prove who is powerful, who is wrong, who worships the correct god." It spat the last word. "War is a perfect example of those three things. You kill each other without thought, without reason. You follow your leaders blindly, accepting what they say as truth, instead of finding the truth yourself." It said with a small, almost hidden smile. "Do not dare claim that you are superior to me." It said as it shook its head slowly. "I see things in humans that you do not. I see your cruelty, your desire to be dominant, to prove without a doubt that you are correct. Humans and vampires are hardly any different in the way we act. I see all of this because of what I am."

"How so?" Abraham then asked with a small sigh.

"If you don't see it, with everything that I have said, then I cannot help you to understand it." It laughed. "It is in your nature and mine, to seek power and control. However," It said, it's voice losing it's taunting tone. "It has been many years since I actually desired power and control like I had when I was human. In a way, this self inflicted curse both saved me and damned me at the same time." He said with a small, quiet laugh.

Though he refused to show it, the way this beast spoke and the things it said, confused him. While it seemed to absolutely hate God, it also seemed sad in a way. Abraham shook the thoughts from his mind. Vampire were masters at manipulation to get what they want and it was likely that the monster was trying to get something out of him. He supposed that he should just get to the point of coming here. "Is there a way to release Mina?" He finally asked.

It barked out another laugh. "Is that all you want of me?" The vampire glanced at him. "You already know how." It answered.

Killing it was the only way that he knew how. He wanted to research it, to find out what works best of monsters as strong as it. "There has to be more than one way." Abraham said with a sigh. He didn't want his friends to have died for no reason. While killing the beast would insure that they didn't die for no reason, it would also be a waste to simply toss it aside.

The vampire hummed slightly. "Why should I give you that information?" It asked. "What more have I to lose if I don't and you choose to kill me to save her? I have already accepted what will happen to me in death. There is nothing that you can threaten me with, nothing you can put me through that I haven't already experienced that would make me speak."

He absolutely hated himself for admitting that the vampire was probably correct. It had been alive for over four-hundred years and in that time it had likely been through more than most could handle. There was no way for him to know of it was lying or not. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath before speaking. "What do you want in return?" He then asked. The others would kill him for making a deal with this demon, but they were running out of time and options.

"There is nothing you could offer me that I would want." He answered and shook his head.

"Nothing?" Abraham said with surprise in his voice. Was the vampire serious? It wanted nothing from him? Not even it's freedom?

"No." He said as he shook his head. "You've taken everything from me. Most of the vampires you killed, had been with me for centuries. Do you not realize how long it takes to for most vampires to gain control over their hunger and feelings of rage? You've taken my children from me, my Brides, my home, my people, and my freedom. Even if I were to require my freedom in exchange for giving Mina back her humanity, what would I have to go back to?"

Abraham considered this for a moment. The monster was correct after all. But couldn't it just create and train more vampires if that was the case? Why wouldn't it? "Wouldn't you just create more?" He asked.

"Are you hard of hearing?" It asked with slight annoyance. "The youngest of my children, I had turned when she was fifteen. She had been with me for nearly a hundred years and had only just grasped the basics of transformation. I have had several hundred children over the years and had to go through teaching them to be respectable vampires. What makes you think I want to go through all of that again?" He asked with boredom now in his voice. "Along with the several hundred I had success in teaching, there were at least that many I had to kill myself. It took me most of my life to build up what I had and honestly it is not worth doing again."

Abraham was silent for a moment. There it was again, that sadness in the monster's voice. "Why tell me all of this?" He finally asked.

"I became bored." It answered simply, a slight shrug came along with that even with the dislocated joints. "It is not as if anything that I am telling you would do anything to help you with much of anything, as my bloodline and myself are not like any other vampires. Besides, the confused look in your eyes amuses me."

"There's more to it than that." Abraham stated as he crossed his arms again.

Dracula's eyes opened wide and he gave a mocking sound. "Ah, so the human isn't as slow as I thought." He said with a smile. "I have met few in my long life that came close to a challenge. While I have been bested in battle before, when I was human, there have only been a few times where I was at the mercy of the one who bested me. For that I respect you to a point. A human capable of defeating a monster such as I is impressive."

"What was the first time you were at the mercy of the one who bested you?" Abraham asked, almost smirking when Dracula lost his arrogant smile. "It was when you were a human child, wasn't it?" He then asked.

"And if it were?" The vampire asked, it's face expressionless.

"You obviously respect those with power, especially the power to beat you. What makes your human experiences different?" Abraham asked.

"Now, Van Helsing, if I were to tell you everything about me, we'd be here for weeks. Mina doesn't have that kind of time, does she?" He said with a slight chuckle.

Abraham's jaw clenched when he brought her up. He was deflecting the question, but at the same time he was correct. Mina was running out of time and sitting here talking to the vampire about things that don't matter at the moment, wasn't helping her. "Can you release her or not?" He asked.

Dracula was silent for several moments. "In theory." It finally answered. "I have never actually done it before. Once a fledgling gives into the hunger, there is nothing I can do for them... She, however, has yet to give in."

"I'm guessing that you won't do it for free though. If there is nothing you want from me, then we have a problem." Abraham said with a sigh as he watched the vampire. "Why did you pick her?" He asked suddenly. "I do not mean to say she is unattractive, but vampires that I have hunted before, regardless of gender, have been shown to be extremely sexual creatures. I saw the three you took as Brides. What reason would you want her for?"

"Do not compare me to the filth you have hunted before." Dracula hissed. "I do not share their lack of control when it comes to that. My Brides were not there for pleasure. They were there for company." It said in another hiss. "They were the most loyal out of the rest. I did not see them as equals, so they were considered my Brides instead of my Countess'."

"Then why?" He asked again. "Why ruin a young woman's life?"

It was silent for a few moments, the expression on It's face was blank, but at the same time almost guilty. "My reasons are my own." It spat. "There is no guarantee that I can reverse the turn... If you allow me," It said with a small, quiet sigh. "If you allow me, I will try."

"For nothing?" Abraham asked, shocked at what he beast had just offered. A slight nod was all he got in response. "Why? What could you possibly gain from this?"

"Nothing." He answered as he looked back at Abraham, the man's eyes hard as he tried to find any reason the vampire would have to do this without anything in return.

"You care for her, don't you?" He asked after a few minutes of thought. He couldn't think of anything that the monster might gain from this, but he also didn't know the creature's mind. It could very well be a trap, but he couldn't see where the trap would be. It was too weak to put up much of a fight and it was the middle of the day, so escape was out of the picture.

"You truly know nothing about my kind." It said with a small smile. "You see us as nothing but monsters for you to hunt and kill. Even the animals you eat have emotions that you cannot see. What makes a vampire any different?"

So the answer to his question was yes. While it might not directly answer the questions, the answers were clear for anyone who could think. "What do I have that tells me you won't attack?" He then asked.

"Nothing." It said with a small smirk. "I have no intention of attacking. However... Don't for one second forget what I am." He said with a sick smile. "I will respect that you were able to beat me. I will not respect even that, if you treat me as though I am harmless."

Abraham almost shuddered at the tone and the look in the monster's eyes and he turned to go and speak with the rest about this new development.

"No!" Jonathan nearly yelled after Abraham explained everything that had happened down in the basement where the creatures cell was kept. "How can you trust anything that, that thing has to say?!"

"We don't have a lot of options here." Abraham pointed out. "Even if we kill it, there is a chance that Mina won't return to human. She has yet to drink blood, but we know so little about the type of monster that he is. He is the strongest vampire I have ever come across and has already shown to be very different from ones we are familiar with. I do not mean to be foul when I say this, but you and Mina have been married for several years and if she were still a virgin through all that time, I would honestly be surprised." At Jonathan's expression he was correct. "She didn't become a ghoul and from the little we know, the only non-virgins to become vampires, had chosen to drink human blood. The blood she drank after being bitten, was vampire blood from an ancient vampire. She should be a ghoul, but she's not. It's a gamble at best, but it is the best that I can do with the limited knowledge we have on his abilities."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right." Arthur said as he looked at Jonathan. "We haven't seen anything like Dracula before. For all we know, killing him would kill her as well."

"Are you really willing to risk it?!" Jonathan yelled as he looked at the other man.

"Jonathan." John said as he stood in front of their friend. "We realize that no one here can really understand what you are thinking and feeling now. But we all knew the risks when he started hunting Dracula. Mina knew them as well and she has been fighting that demon inside of her since. In the end, it is Mina who we should be speaking to about this." He said as he looked at the other two men. "She is the only one who should be allowed to make this choice."

"He's right." Arthur said as he looked at Abraham. "If it were not for Mina, we would have never been able to fully catch the beast in the first place. The Romani protecting him would have killed us if it weren't for her. She," He gave a sigh. "aside from Lucy and Quincy, has given up the most to stop him. She is still mostly in her right mind and we do not have the right to make a choice like this for her."

Jonathan looked back at him. "I'm her husband. I have a right to be apart of that choice!"

"You don't." Arthur said and shook his head. "The choice will be felt by everyone here, but who are we to decide for her?" He asked as he walked up to the man. "You married one of the strongest women I have ever met. She has shown time and again that she can care for herself. We are doing her no favors by taking that human right from her now."

"Then it's settled." Abraham spoke, causing the three men to look at him. "When night comes, we will go to Mina and ask her what she wishes to do." He said with a sigh as he leaned against his desk, his arms crossed as he thought. There were many ways for this to turn out badly, but everything came down to if Mina thought it was worth it. He glanced out the window. The sun should set in a few hours. Hopefully soon after that, Mina will have made a choice to either trust the Count or to just trust in God and give up her life early.

Sneak Peek for Ch 2:

"So he is manipulating us." Abraham said with a small sigh as he ran his right hand through his hair.

"Yes, he is... But I think that given the circumstances, that I will be content if he can give her, her humanity back." John said, his eyes sad yet hopeful. "That is, if she agrees to it."

Abraham grit his teeth and stared at his friend for a moment. "Are you prepared for what we will have to do to her if she isn't?" He asked.

John was silent, the he shook his head slowly. "We never will be." He said with a sad smile.

* * *

 **A/N: I have yet to decide if I will continue this. I just recently got back into Hellsing after several years of forgetting it even existed. If I do make this into a full story, it will be updated slowly. I have a main story that I am trying to focus on and I just couldn't focus on writing chapters for it with this in my head. I know there are errors. I always find at least 3 each time I go back and re-read my stories. I will eventually fix most of them. This is the first story I have done for Hellsing and I'm not really sure if I like how it turned out.**

 **So a month later I have decided to upload this. I'm still not sure how well I like this, but if I don't upload it now I will probably never upload it. I've begun writing the next chapter for this, but I haven't decided if I will upload that. If I do, then I will be making this into a longer story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I will get into more why Alucard is out of character in the next few chapters, but I think that it's pretty obvious as to why he is acting like that.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: No clue.**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 2:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

"Abraham." John said as he walked into the man's office. Abraham looked up from what he'd been writing and waited for John to continue. "We should go and speak to Mina now. The sun has set so she should be awake now, but in case she does end up losing control, we should speak with her before night fully sets in."

Abraham nodded once and stood. "Where is Jonathan?" He then asked.

"He refused to leave the door to her..." John paused, then sighed. "Holding area." He didn't want to use the word cell, even though that's what it was. It just felt wrong to use that word when talking about Mina.

Abraham only nodded again and grabbed a pistol from his drawer, sliding it into the holster on his side, and then walking out with the doctor.

"Where did Arthur go?" He asked as he glanced at Abraham.

"He didn't say where he was going when he left, but I saw him leave through the front gates." Abraham answered. "Did your visit to the monster yield anything new?" He asked.

John opened his mouth, closed it and took a moment to think about it. "No." He shook his head. "But I did find that he was acting strangely."

"It has been acting strangely ever since we came into contact with it." Abraham pointed out. "It constantly switched from being bloodthirsty, to uninterested."

John sighed at Abraham's insistence on calling Dracula an it. He would not deny that he was monster, but he was also someone before the monster and he still was someone even as the monster. "You are the only one he shows real interest in taunting and playing mind games with, but he's never completely ignored Jonathan or I. Even if he didn't speak, he would watch us." He explained. "But when I went to his cell he seemed..." He stopped as he tried to think of a correct word. "Gone, for lack of a better word."

Abraham stopped and turned to face John. "What do you mean 'gone'?" He asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

John sighed and gave a small shrug. "I don't really know how to explain it. It was like how someone my patients get lost in the fantasy worlds that they create, but at the same time, I don't believe that's what it was."

"That's hardly any proof that something is wrong with it." Abraham said and shook his head.

"I know that, Abraham." John said with another sigh. "Trust me on this, will you?" He asked and then continued. "Something is wrong with him and while that beast does deserve to suffer, it may become dangerous for us if he loses what sanity he has left."

"What would you suggest we do then?" Abraham asked as they began to walk again.

John hesitated before he spoke. "The only thing that I can think of, is to seal him to something or someone." He answered, causing Abraham to stop again and look at him.

"A seal?" He then asked.

John nodded once. "That is the only thing that will completely lock away his powers and keep his mind obedient." He explained. "I believe his sanity to be the only things he truly doesn't want to lose."

"What about Mina?" Abraham asked.

"I don't think he cares about Mina at all." John said as he shook his head. "I think it is what she is." Abraham gave him a look that said 'Continue'. "He doesn't care that he took her humanity from her, but because he did that, he turned her into one of his fledglings. We killed all the rest, she's the last one and he doesn't want to create more. At least not at this point in time. If he's going to lose the last of his bloodline, he wants it to be on his terms. Not ours."

"So he is manipulating us." Abraham said with a small sigh as he ran his right hand through his hair.

"Yes, he is... But I think that given the circumstances, that I will be content if he can give her, her humanity back." John said, his eyes sad yet hopeful. "That is, if she agrees to it."

Abraham grit his teeth and stared at his friend for a moment. "Are you prepared for what we will have to do to her if she isn't?" He asked.

John was silent, then he shook his head slowly. "We never will be." He said with a sad smile. "There is no possible way to make ourselves ready to kill a friend. It will always be hard to bring ourselves to do something like that. If it wasn't, then we'd be monsters as well."

Abraham was silent as he listened to John. The man had a point that he couldn't argue. "Then I have another question for you, John." John nodded for him to continue. "If it does turn out that way, how do we live with ourselves?"

"Has a day passed where you haven't thought about what had to happened to Lucy?" John asked. "How it could have been different?"

Abraham sighed and shook his head, casting his eyes down. "No."

"You, Jonathan, Mina, Arthur, and I..." John crossed his arms. "We all feel guilty for surviving while Lucy and Quincy died. We all feel like we should have been able to do something and because we didn't, it is somehow our fault that it happened. trying to rid ourselves of those emotions, it not an easy thing to do. Some people never accept that there was nothing that could have been done. That they had done all they could." John gave a small, sad chuckle. "Even with all my experience with the mental state of humans, I can't bring myself to believe that there was nothing else for me to do, that might have changed all of this."

"You haven't answered my question." Abraham said as he looked back at his friend.

"I did." John answered as he nodded. "To simplify it, there is no way to tell if we'll ever be able to live with ourselves. "We can't force ourselves to be able to live with it. But, spending time thinking about every little thing that we could have done different, how things would be if they were still here, is not healthy."

"I suppose you're correct." Abraham said, shaking his head slightly.

"Come on." John said as he began to walk again. "We still need to speak with Mina."

Opening his eyes, Dracula looked to the cell door. The light that would normally be streaming through was blocked, as Jonathan stood at the door, glaring at the restrained vampire.

Dracula scoffed and rested his head against the wall, keeping his eyes on Jonathan. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Does the dog no longer have a master to control it?" He asked with a small smirk, one that Jonathan probably couldn't even see.

"If she refuses your help, or you cannot free her," He said with a glare. "I will kill you."

Dracula hummed and leaned his head forward, his hair falling over his shoulder and covering most of his face. "Not even Van Helsing could kill me. What makes you think you will be able to?" He asked as he tilted his head to the right slightly. He leaned his head back against the wall, slowly closing his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was speak with this idiot of a man. "I do not fear death, human." He hissed. "I have accepted what my death entails for hundreds of years."

"I wouldn't expect a demon like you to understand death." Jonathan said, causing Dracula to open his eyes and stare at the man.

Dracula smiled, deciding to humor the human for a short time. "Educate me." He spoke, almost in a purring manor.

"Death is sad and final." He began. "It is something that everyone has to deal with at some point or another, even a monster like you. It is the one thing we fear above all else, be it our deaths or the deaths of loved ones, because we never had nearly enough time." He took a long breath. "But for one like you, you couldn't accept your death, so you became a demon. You never found anything to fill your life with, so you surrounded yourself with death so that it would become a trivial thing to you."

Dracula's smile faded as he watched Jonathan speak. When the human had finished, Dracula sat there in silence, before he got up and almost effortlessly, ripped apart the bindings and chains that held him to the wall and floor. Before Jonathan had much time to react, Dracula was at the door, inches away from the man. "Do not think that just because you have less time than I, that I do not understand death." He hissed.

Jonathan gave a yell and jumped back. Dracula's eyes glowed a bright red, his eyes narrowed in anger and hate. Jonathan took several shaky breaths. "How-how did you-"

"Shut up!" Dracula hissed. "You know nothing of my decision when I became a monster." His eyes quickly turned away from the man, when he saw Van Helsing and that doctor running down the hall towards them.

"What happened?!" Abraham demanded, gun in hand. He looked from Jonathan to Dracula, his eyes widening in confusion and caution. "How did you break free from your restraints?" He asked, keeping his voice steady and demanding.

Dracula stood there silently. He opened his mouth slightly, as though to begin speaking, but remained silent. He looked away from the humans before him and took a step away from the door to look down at his burned hands. He hadn't even realized that he'd placed his hands against the door. Turning his eyes upward, he saw the large dents he had made in the metal. How had such a simply line from that idiot cause him to lose control over himself that quickly?

Abraham made to lift his pistol, but stopped when John put a hand on the barrel of the gun and lowered it. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I don't think he's even taking notice that we're here anymore." John answered as he watched the vampire stare at his hands. "Do you see what I was speaking of, Abraham?" He asked as he turned his head to look at the other man.

Dracula suddenly looked back towards them, though the anger and hate that had been in his eyes just moments before, was gone. Instead it was replaced by the usual bored look that his eyes normally held. He dropped his hands, turned away, and walked back to where he had been and sat back against the wall.

"What do you want, Van Helsing?" He asked as he turned his eyes back towards the door. Though he couldn't see the man from his current position, he could see the shadows that all three of the men cast against the walls. His voice was calm, yet bored sounding.

"Jonathan, go back to Mina." Abraham ordered, never taking his eyes away from the cell door. "John, go with him and speak with Mina."

"Are you sure you will be safe here alone?" Jonathan asked, looking to the man.

"Yes. Now go and speak with her." He said, giving a small glance to the man.

"Yell if something happens." John said as he nodded for Jonathan to follow him.

After the two men had left, Abraham walked closer to the door so that he could fully see the vampire. Dracula stared back at him and remained silent. "What's happened to you?" Abraham asked. He could see what John was talking about. While it wasn't uncommon for the monster's moods to change rapidly, it seemed like the beast hadn't even been aware of it's own actions. Actions that resulted in it injuring itself.

Dracula stared at him for a while longer before speaking. "What do you want, Van Helsing?" He asked again, ignoring the man's question.

"I want to know what just happened!" Abraham nearly yelled. "How did you escape your binds?" He demanded.

"You're not as good as you think you are, Van Helsing." Dracula growled. "You cannot bind me like you would the filth you call vampires."

"Then... then why do you allow yourself to be kept here?" Abraham asked.

"Why should I put effort into escaping?" The vampire asked, turning his eyes to the ceiling. "I can't even heal myself in this state." He hissed as he looked at his scorched hands. "Tell me, Van Helsing," He said as he looked away from his hands and back to Abraham. "What would the point of escaping be? There is nothing in Heaven or Hell that would keep you from hunting me across this Godforsaken world. I have nothing to go back to, nothing to protect anymore anyway."

Abraham gave the vampire a confused stare. "Protect?" He asked quietly, more to himself than the monster.

Dracula then smiled and rested his hands on his knees. "Then again, I doubt you would get as lucky as you did, if I were to escape." He purred. "What do you think? Would that woman have enough control to help your track me down again?"

"Should we be leaving him alone with that thing?" Jonathan asked as he and John walked to the cell Mina was being kept in.

"Dracula won't do anything to him." John said as he shook his head.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Jonathan asked as they turned left down a hallway. "It ripped through those chains, those blessed silver chains. It dented a door made from silver and steel as well."

"And he hurt himself doing it. He doesn't care about his freedom enough to continue to hurt himself, which is what would happen if he wanted to escape that cell." John pointed out. "What did you say to him, that made him mad enough to forgo his own health just to escape those chains?" He asked as he looked to the man.

Jonathan sighed. "I told it that death was sad. That it could never find anything to fill it's life with, so it would surrounded itself with death so that it would become a trivial thing to it." He answered with a small shrug.

"He knows what death is, Jonathan." John said as he shook his head. "He's just seen so much of it, that it doesn't affect him like it does us. He was a warlord in his human life. It's impossible to say just how many of his men he'd watched die on the battlefield, or how many enemies he'd watched die."

"You want to understand it's mind, don't you?" Jonathan asked.

"I can't help it." John said, shaking his head. "I'm a doctor and regardless of what he is, he has a mind." He explained. "Maybe if I can get into it, find out why he is this way, then maybe I'll get an answer as to why he does the things he does."

"Some don't have a reason as to why they do things, John." Jonathan said, stopping outside of the door to Mina's cell. "You might not like the answers you get."

"I know that." John said with a small nod. "I just don't believe that he is one of them, and even if I get answers that I don't like, I would rather know exactly what we are dealing with. So much of his past is a mystery. We can't rely on history to know about his life, his mental state. History is lied about all the time and only those who were there will know what happened. I have basic answers, that do explain some of my questions. For other, I will need a better explanation."

"Questions like what?" Jonathan asked with his head tilted to the left slightly.

"His Brides for example." He said, crossing his arms loosely. "He'd told Abraham that they were not there for pleasure, but for companionship instead. Now, he had at least two lovers in his human life. At least one of them he truly loved and it devastated him when he lost her. For now it's a theory, but perhaps after that happened, he couldn't look at another woman the way he had looked at the one he'd loved."

Jonathan was silent for a moment. "Don't make me feel empathy for that thing, John." He said with a hard stare.

"I'm not trying to." John said with a shake of his head. "All I'm saying, is that there is so much that we could learn from him. I might even be able to help some of my more... difficult patients if I can understand his mind. We could learn about vampires as well." He shook his head. "This is too long of a conversation to be having right now, we still need to speak with your wife."

"Agreed." Jonathan said with a nod as he turned to the cell door. "Mina." He said as he looked through the bars on the door. he had to squint his eyes to see his wife in the corner of the room, sitting against the wall.

She turned her eyes towards him, then away. "What is it, Jonathan?" She asked, her tone annoyed.

"There may be a way for you to become human again." John answered for him, when Jonathan said nothing.

She turned her eyes towards them again. "How?" She asked in a sigh.

"Dracula told Abraham that he might be able to reverse the change." The doctor answered as he watched the woman.

"With black magic perhaps." She responded as she stood, brushed her dress off, and walked towards the door. John opened his mouth to speak, Mina cut him off. "Don't." She said and shook her head. "Do not tell me that everything with be fine or will work out. If you do, I will reach through this door and tear out your throat." She hissed.

Both John and Jonathan's mouths hung open slightly as she spoke.

"Mina-" Jonathan began, only to be cut of by his wife.

"Don't." She said and shook her head, looking from John to her husband. "The only way that I am going back to being a human, is if Dracula is killed. Abraham isn't willing to let that happen."

"So, are you saying no to even attempting it?" John asked, his shoulders going down.

Mina was silent for a long moment. "Yes." She said as she looked at the doctor. She then looked to Jonathan and spoke again. "I have come to terms with the end of my life and I accept them."

"Mina-"

She cut off her husband again. "Jonathan, stop." She ordered. "Death comes to us all, sooner for some than others. I am content with how I lived my life and the choices I made." She stopped, closed her eyes, opened them and then looked back at Jonathan. "I can't go another day with these thoughts I have. How much I want to get out of this cell and kill everything I can find." She shook her head. "I can't do that anymore."

Sneak Peek:

Abraham grit his teeth at the creatures taunt. "You are not as good as you think you are, either, Beast."

"Oh, I am very much aware of that." He said with a smile. "I've overestimated my abilities, and underestimated situations before. I know my flaws, Van Helsing. Humans, such as yourself, are too prideful to admit their worst flaws. That is why, despite our short history together, I will always have an advantage against you." He purred.

* * *

 **A/N: You know, I am not really that happy with how this chapter turned out and I will probably change it in time, but I really needed to get the overall idea out there, or I would never get to it. Sorry about errors. Not sure when the next chapter will be, as I am still deciding on what I am going to do with Mina.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am so, so sorry about punctuation... I have always been horrible with it. Hey look, I can update quickly though. I really have nothing to say before we get into the chapter… So here you go.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: No clue.**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

Abraham grit his teeth at the creature's taunt. At this point with just how much it seemed to go from taunting, to giving helpful information, to just seeming depressed, he was sure that not even it could navigate through it's own mind. He let a breath out through his nose and spoke.

"You are not as good as you think you are either, Beast." He said as he crossed his arms loosely.

Dracula hummed quietly. "I think that because I am sitting in a cell, starved, with burned hands from blessed silver, that I already know that." He smirked. "I know my flaws, Van Helsing. My arrogance is usually what causes me the most trouble." He said as he gestured to the cell around him. "I assure you, it was far worse when I had been human." He gave a small laugh. "Humans, such as yourself, such as I was, are far too prideful to admit their worst flaws, their worst mistakes. That is why, despite our short history together, I will have an advantage against you." He purred.

"As far as a physical advantage, you are correct. However, just being human gives me an advantage that you do not have." Abraham said with a small sigh.

"I suppose you speak of your human allies, yes?" Dracula asked as he stood slowly. When Abraham said nothing, he smiled and then spoke again. "Most vampires forget what it was like to be human, what it was like to live. Truly live. An undead life is... just not the same." He said as he shook his head slowly. "Because of this, we do not often form bonds between each other, or other creatures." He said as he stepped towards the door, his long legs only taking a few steps to reach it."It means that we don't have allies to help us in times of need... But it also means we don't have nearly as much to lose."

Abraham eyes met the monsters as he spoke. "It means you have nothing to gain either."

Dracula smiled and shook his head. He couldn't care less if he had anything to gain or not. "Understand, Van Helsing, that even when I ruled over my fledglings and the surrounding lands, you took it all from me and I couldn't care less. Could you say the same if I took all of this away from you?" He said with a smile. "You make horrible decisions that will lead to your downfall and the death of everything you love."

Abraham gave the vampire a small glare. "It sounds to me, as though you speak from experience." The vampire let out a small, almost silent laugh.

"I am sure that you have read about my human life, Van Helsing. You are far too meticulous to pass up knowledge like that." Dracula said as he stepped towards the door.

"Then why do you warn me?" Abraham asked with a small shrug. "History tells us that you did not take well to being a prisoner in your human life, that you were cruel beyond measure. Especially to your enemies." Dracula laughed. It was so sudden and loud that Abraham flinched.

"Tell me, Van Helsing, do you know how long a human can survive being impaled, if done just right?" He asked. Abraham gave him a puzzled look, like he wasn't sure if Dracula actually wanted an answer.

"No. How would I?" He asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know where this conversation was going, but it was too late to back out now.

"I had people die of thirst and hunger before they died of the impalement." He said with a smile. "When the Turks would come into my lands, only to see hundreds, thousands of their soldiers impaled on stakes and left to the elements, to birds who would peck at their eyes, maggots that would make a home in their rotting bodies and eat them alive, while hungry ground scavengers would sit and wait…" He chuckled. "Sometimes I would bring my men out and we would watch as their forces fled from my lands, from their own suffering soldiers…" He trailed off with a large smile.

The more he went on, the more horrified Abraham became. He knew that this vampire had been a horrid man in life, but hearing it from it's mouth, seeing the joy it gave the creature who gave up it's humanity. It somehow made it far worse than just reading about it in the books he and John had found.

"Wh-" He was cut off by another sharp bark of laughter.

"It was psychological warfare, Van Helsing." He said with a purr in his voice. "They brought it on themselves… I just showed them the monster that they had created." He tilted his head to the left at an impossible angle. "So when you ask why I am warning you, it is because no matter how hard you try, how far you get, or how intelligent you become, I will still have the means to make you lose your mind."

Abraham was sure he understood why the creature had yet to try and escape now. Part of it was that he had nothing to go back to, sure… But what it really wanted, was to watch him make choices, make mistakes. It wanted to bring him to the level of insanity it was already at. Originally it had respected him on some level for being able to defeat it, but he didn't kill the vampire and that is what made it lose whatever respect it had for him. He had given into human curiosity, instead of doing the right thing to protect the world form a monster.

He mentally shook his head. He couldn't let it get to him that easily. The vampire respected humans who had the willpower to beat a monster like it. Even if he had given into his curiosity, if he could still have the willpower to overcome the beast's mind games, then it would respect him again and it would eventually fall in line.

Fall in line? Where had that come from? Was he honestly thinking about turning this creature into a servant or a soldier?

Abraham organized his thoughts before he spoke. He couldn't let this creature win. Not after everything that had been lost just so that they might have had a chance to kill it. "Maybe you're correct." He finally said. "Maybe everything I do is for not. Even if everything I do amounts to nothing, I have already started down this path, too much has been given up for it. I cannot simply turn away just because it seems like I am fighting a losing battle." He said with a hard stare. The vampire hummed quietly as he spoke. He turned and began to walk away, not stopping when the vampire spoke.

"Remember, Van Helsing, you reap what you sow." He said as he watched the human walk away. "Do not make the same mistakes that the Turks had." He laughed.

* * *

Abraham couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about what the creature had said to him. The tone in it's voice. Something about it made him think that it was glad to have found someone who could take it down, but disappointed that it wasn't killed after it had been defeated. Perhaps it was simply it believe that one should either win or die on the battlefield, but then why would it become a monster? He shook his head as he thought about it.

He stopped when he saw John coming towards him. Noticing the sad look on his friend's face, he spoke. "What happened?" He asked as the man stopped in front of him.

"Mina does not want to let Dracula try to free her." He answered with a sigh. "She just wants to end it." He said sadly, not making eye contact with Abraham.

"She-"

"She doesn't need more time to think about it, Abraham." John said as he shook his head slowly. "I hate her choice as much as you do, but it is her choice. She does not want to go another day with thoughts of murder and destruction and we should not force that on her."

"Did she seem sound of mind when you spoke with her?" He asked. He wanted to know that this wasn't just a choice made out of desperation, but rather sound thought.

He gave a small nod. "She has been thinking about this for days, Abraham. There is no doubt in her mind that this is what needs to be done."

Abraham sighed. "Is Jonathan still with her?" He asked after a moment of thought. John nodded in response. "Good."

"I… In the morning then." He said, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "When she is asleep."

"I have a request." John said after a long moment of silence between the two.

"What is it?" Abraham asked, his arms crossed and his shoulders low.

"I wanted to speak with Dracula. Alone." He answered with some hesitation.

"I do not believe that, that would be a good idea, John." He said with a shake of his head. "Why do you wish to speak with it?"

"To be honest, I have no real reason." The man answered with a shrug. "I-I just want to speak with him. I guess the bests reason would be that it will give me something to think about other than our friends inevitable death."

Abraham took a deep breath and then nodded. "Very well."

"Thank you." He said with a small nod. "I will go there now then. I think you should go and speak with Mina and Jonathan." He said as he walked past the man and headed down the corridor, back to the vampires cell.

* * *

 ** **Sneak Peek:  
**** **  
"He's a good man and husband." John said with a small nod. "What was that?" He asked as he nodded to what Abraham had just closed.**

"I was trying to organize all of my notes on the vampire." He answered as he gestured to the notes scattered on his desk. "Did you go and speak with it?" Abraham asked, pushing the various papers aside so that he could rest his arms on the desktop.

"Yes." John said with a sigh. "I believe that I may have caused him to shut himself away, in a way." He said, then paused. "If that makes sense at all." He shook his head and looked at Abraham.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that this was a short chapter compared to my other two, but I felt like that was a good place to stop it for this chapter. Again, sorry about errors. I have no beta reader and really don't want to have to find one. I am also writing on a very small keyboard and have caught myself messing up too many times to count. That being said, I feel like I have a little more inspiration for this story than when I began it, so you can expect at least one more chapter very, very soon.**

 **Also, at around this point in the story, things are going to be a little more descriptive and morbid as well, so that just a warning. I will probably end up changing the rating to M, just because of the fucked up things that the actual Dracula aka Vlad the Impaler, did. I will also be bringing in a few other notable killers and human monsters from history into the story. Can any of you guess which ones? They're pretty morbid themselves.**

 **I will probably not go into Alucard's past when he was a child too much, but it will eventually get there.**

 **In the next chapter (hopefully, as long as I don't get sidetracked with writing it), I will go into what happens with Mina.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I tend to be a more logical person in my life, so when I am using John as the doctor that he is, I am making things up that would make sense to me logically. I've known a lot of people who have been through a lot of things, and I have known a lot of people with mental illness'. So I am basing a lot of what he talks about or says, on what I have made sense of with those people. Psychology is also one of those things that can be taken and understood in so many different ways, so it gives me a lot of leeway. So, just like with religious remarks that will be made in this story, I do not mean to offend anyone.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: 6/29/16**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 4:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

 _"Alina, we need to go. Now!" Vlad barked as he rushed to his wife's side as the woman stood with her back to him, standing at the edge of the tower._

 _"There is no end to this madness." She said as she watched the approaching soldiers. Their numbers were easily double what they had defending the castle. "How can you continue on like this? All of this hate, war, sadness and loss?" She asked as she turned to look at her husband._

 _He stared at her for a moment, his mouth open slightly. "This is not a quick discussion, Alina." He said as he shook his head and grabbed her shoulders. "We need to leave this place. There is no possible way that my men can defend it against them. We can discuss my choices at another time. Preferably one where we are not being chased from our home."_

 _"There is no way that we will get out of here alive!" She shouted above the sounds of the fighting below. She ripped herself from her husband's grasp and backed away until her waist hit the tower ledge. "Not unless we surrender." She said as she shook her head._

 _He hesitated for a moment at her sudden outburst. He quickly composed himself and spoke. "I would never surrender to them!" He said as he took another step towards his wife._

 _She gave him a small smile. "I know. I know you would not." She nodded. "I refuse to surrender to them as well. Not after everything that has already been lost in the name of this neverending battle." She took a breath, let it out and glanced over her shoulder at the soldiers. "I know your stance with certain things, Love, so I will ask that you forgive me for what I will do."_

 _He looked at her with confusion. She held no fear or sadness in her eyes or her voice. He could see the fire's from below reflecting in her eyes as she watched the chaos. She turned her eyes to him as she put her hands onto the ledge of the tower, and gave him another, slightly larger smile. "Alina-" He began to yell as the woman pushed herself over the edge._

* * *

Slowly, Dracula opened his eyes. He hadn't thought or dreamt about that day in a long, long time.

"You're crying."

He froze and turned his eyes towards the door to his cell. For whatever reason, he didn't recognize the voice right away, and thinking it had been Abraham, growled. He stopped once he realized it was the doctor and not Abraham. He stared at the man for several long, silent moments. Wait. He lifted a hand towards his eyes and wiped, before pulling his hand away and looking at the blood smear that now covered his burned hand.

"It is alright to cry." John said when Dracula turned his head away so that his hair covered his face. Though, given that his hair was currently as white as the snow, the blood stained the edges of it where his hair parted. "It shows that, maybe, you're not fully lost yet."

"Do you have a reason for bothering me, human." Dracula barked as he turned his

head to stare at the doctor.

"No." John said as he shook his head slowly. "Mina said no to your offer, and I simply wanted to take my mind off of her choice for a little while."

"By coming to the source of her… problem." Dracula said with a smile. "I see that you don't make nearly as good of choices as I thought you did."

"Taunting and making threats is your defense mechanism." He suddenly said. He was quite sure why he had decided to go that way with the conversation, but if he wanted to think about something other than Mina dying, then it was as good a place to start as any with the vampire. "When you're faced with situations that bore you, you tend to do that so that you have something interesting to watch. However, you also do it when you don't know how to deal with certain situations." He said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "It works on Abraham and his short temper, but given my career choice, it will not have the same affect on me."

Dracula was silent for a time. "Most in your position, would have shown anger and hatred towards me. Why are you so different?" He asked, almost quietly.

"There is no point in being angry." John answered with a small shrug. "What has happened is sad, and I don't know how I am going to deal with it all-" He took a breath. "-when Mina is gone… I guess that right now, I'm just numb to it." His eyes turned away from the vampire, more out of thought than not wanting to look at him. He gave a sad smile. "Both of us are just going to have to wait until she's gone to know how I will feel towards you."

Again, they fell into silence and John knew he would have to be the one to break it. "So, uh, what-what were you dreaming or thinking about?" He asked as he turned his eyes back to Dracula.

"Why should I tell you?" The vampire asked, keeping his voice emotionless. He ran a hand down his face, wiping away the rest of the blood as he looked back at the human.

"You don't have to." He pointed out. "It's just that, well, given what I know about your human life, you likely were not the type to speak with even those you were close with about whatever traumas you went through."

"If that is your conclusion, why would I speak with you about them?" Dracula asked. "One who helped to break down what I had built up."

"It can be easier to talk with someone that you are not close with, or that you do not know at all." He answered. "The reason for this, is because when someone talks to another, that they do not know or are not close with, about their life or what goes on in their mind, they often don't care if they lose that person. That is what makes it easier to talk with someone you wouldn't be close with. It's self-preservation."

Dracula stared at him. "I'm curious then." He stated as he stood up and walked over to the door. "What do you see in my history or in me?" He asked.

"Are you asking me what I have noticed that Abraham, Arthur, Jonathan and even Mina, have not?" Dracula gave a small nod. He smiled at the vampire. "You're not asking me to do that because you actually want to know. You're asking me that, because you believe that I will not be able to look at everything I know about you, or have seen, and make a correct statement based on all of that."

"Humor me then." Dracula said with a smile, his red eyes calm.

"I will warn you, that the farther back in history someone looks, the less they will be able to find. Everything that they find, they also need to take with a grain of salt, as it is not uncommon for history to be changed." He said, never breaking eye contact with the vampire. "Because of this, I may make several false statements, as there is no way for me to know what is truth and what is a lie."

"Do your best then." Was all Dracula said in response.

"Very well." John said with a small nod. "Not much is known about when you were younger than around twelve or thirteen, when you, your brother and your father were taken prisoner by the Turkish." Dracula's eyes narrowed at the reminder. "From what I could gather, your father was likely distant, as he had many responsibilities. Who your mother was, is also a mystery, as you father was known to take many mistress'. The woman who raised you, who you knew as your mother, you would have likely been close to her."

When Dracula said nothing, he continued. "You hated when men and women would be unfaithful to their spouses, so when it was made known, you brutally tortured and killed were also accounts of how brutal you were towards the torture of women." He said with a slight grimace. "Given how close you likely were to the woman who raised you, it is strange that you would torture women so brutally. Then I began to think about how many women you probably saw your father with and it began to make sense as to why you would be so hostile towards them."

"I am done with this." Dracula said as he turned and headed back to where he had been, sitting back against the wall. "You are beginning to bore me."

John watched him for a few minutes. When it became apparent that Dracula was done speaking with him, John nodded. "Another time then." He said as he turned and walked away. It wasn't hard to tell that he'd struck an old nerve in the vampire and Dracula wasn't going to go anywhere else with the conversation.

He briefly wondered exactly what time it was. It had to have been late now, and though he was sure that Abraham was still awake, he wondered if the man was in his office or not.

Abraham was sitting his office, leaning back in his desk chair. He'd been writing on the same page for the past half hour, and the only thing he'd written down was the creature's name, species and sex. He had been writing notes about the creature ever since they had heard about it, but up until now he'd never really tried to organize them.

He sat up when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in." He called. A maid opened the door, letting John into the man's office.

"Is Jonathan still with Mina?" He asked as the maid shut the door and he walked over to Abraham's desk, sitting down in one of the two chairs that stood about a yard in front of his desk.

"Yes. I told him that he might want to leave when it comes time, but he insisted that he was going to stay with her until the end." He explained as he shut the journal he had been writing the creature's notes in. Well, trying to write the notes in.

"He's a good man and husband." John said with a small nod. "What was that?" He asked as he nodded to what Abraham had just closed.

"I was trying to organize all of my notes on the vampire." He answered as he gestured to the notes scattered on his desk. "Did you go and speak with it?" Abraham asked, pushing the various papers aside so that he could rest his arms on the desktop.

"Yes." John said with a sigh. "I believe that I may have caused him to shut himself away, in a way." He said, then paused. "If that makes sense at all." He shook his head and looked at Abraham.

Abraham sighed. "It seems to have gone back to taunting and mind games, so I would not put too much thought into what it was doing when you went to see it." He sighed before he asked. "Do you have any idea as to why it would do that now? Why it would suddenly start with the mind-games and manipulation again?"

"Without speaking to him more, I can only make guesses." He said with a small shrug. "There can be many things that would cause him to start to act that way again. He could feel threatened, bored, interested even."

"Interested?" Abraham asked, tilting his head slightly. "What could he possibly be interested in?"

John gave a small shrug. "His mind is hard to understand with what little I know about it. All I can tell you for certain, is how he ended up the way he is and why he does certain things. Mentally at least. Even then... it can be a shot in the dark. I have no idea just how far his madness goes. It could be something as simple as he cannot control his emotions, so he will go from silent and obedient, to taunting and manipulation. " He said as he ran a hand down his face.

Abraham nodded and then spoke. "When you and Jonathan had gone to see Mina, towards the end of our conversation it said that it will always have the means to cause me to lose my mind. It thinks that no matter what I do, it will always be the victor." John opened his mouth and then closed it again. "What?"

"I hate to admit it, Abraham, but he may be correct." John answered. "Dracula does not need to use physical means to harm any of us. He is like nothing we have ever seen and one wrong move, one slip up…" He sighed. "As time goes on, I might be able to understand him, instead of making logical conclusions."

"What is wrong with making logical conclusions?" Abraham then asked.

"For the most part, nothing." John said, shaking his head. "But I cannot speak to him only logically. I need to make some form of connection with him, so that he would trust me enough to tell me things."

"You are beginning to act as though he is one of your patients that you want to help." Abraham said with narrowed eyes. "Do not forget what he is, John."

"Damn it, Abraham!" John nearly shouted. "There is no possible way for me to forget what he is, what he's done! But I cannot sit by, listening to what you say and not think about what he was before the monster." Abraham flinched at his friend's outburst. "Abraham, at one point he was someone's son, someone's brother, someone's husband, and someone's father." He said with a sigh as he calmed himself down. "With how many patients I have had, I cannot look at him, despite what he is, and not think about that. Pa-" He stopped, looked away, took a breath and then looked back at Abraham. "Part of the reason that I look at him that way, is because of what I see in you."

Abraham faltered with his words. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"What I mean, is that you are not the same as you once were. Not after the loss of your child and your wife." Abraham looked away. "I saw what that did to you. I can see what a person's history does to them and despite how much I should hate him, I-I just can't, and then I make myself feel conflicted because of it. I feel like maybe, maybe there is something wrong with me for sympathizing with him." He leaned back in the chair. "This career is destroying me."

"Then why do it?" Abraham asked as he looked back to his friend. He couldn't help but see the man who had been so logical throughout all of this, look so broken, so conflicted.

"Because I'm too much of a coward to just end it all." He said with a bitter laugh. He shook his head, sighed, then leaned forward. "I do it, because I saw people who needed help, mentally, that the world just tossed aside. The world said that they were too broken to be fixed, and I refuse to believe that for most of them." He said as a sad smile appeared on his face. "I still refuse to believe that."

Sneak Peek for Ch 5:

"John," Abraham said as he turned to the man. "Go to Jonathan and Mina, while I figure out who would be foolish enough to attack my home. You know where the passageways are if you need to escape unseen."

"Do not get yourself killed." John warned. "We have enough to deal with, we do not need to add your foolish acts during a fight added to those." Abraham gave him an annoyed stare as he turned and ran down the hall.

* * *

 **A/N: You know, I was going to get more into what happens with Mina, but then I was sitting in my bed, watching something on YouTube, and this chapter hit me. I swear, to whatever gods are out there, that the next chapter WILL have more to do with Mina and her fate. I would have added it to this chapter, but it would have made this, probably, near an 8,000 word chapter. Some people like chapters that long, I have always hated it and so I try to not write them that long. I would rather break my stories up a bit.**

 **No one knows who Vlad the Impaler's first wife was, other than she was a Romanian noblewoman, who ended up killing herself when it looked like there was no way out other than surrender, so I have named her Alina in the story. I want to use her character more, but we will see how it goes.**

 **Again, this story is going to get dark fast. I will be changing it to an M rated story because of that and will add more warnings to the first chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay… so this chapter is going to have gore in it, not much, but descriptive. There is character death in this chapter as well. This is also a very short chapter, and I apologize for that, but I felt as though that was a good place to stop the chapter. I will try and update soon, but I have a dentist appointment in a few days and don't know how in the mood I will be.**

 **I went back and re-read the other chapters and got a little disappointed in myself, with how many errors I found. I will eventually get to them, but for now I'm going to leave them.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: 9/3/16**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 5:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

Hours after John had gone to try and sleep, Abraham still sat in his office. He'd managed to write down more on the beast. Along with it's physical description, he'd been able to write down some of it's mental description. Then he'd lost track of his thoughts and ended up sitting back, in silence, watching the fire in his office slowly die out, leaving the fireplace, and much of the room, dark and cold.

He let out a small sigh and turned his eyes towards the large window on his left. There was no moon tonight, leaving the stars to shine brighter against the black sky. Standing, he pushed himself away from his desk, his chair quietly scraping against the wood floor. He gather up his notes and slid them into the middle drawer, on the right side of his desk. Hearing a knock at the door, he looked up.

"Come in." He called as he stood straight, shutting the drawer.

The door slowly opened and a young maid walked in, holding a candle in her left hand close to her face. Her brown eyes were reflecting the light from the candle almost like a mirror. "I wanted to make sure that you had not fallen asleep in your chair, Sir." She said, moving the candle away from her face slightly. "It wouldn't be good for your back."

"John sent you." He stated as he walked around his desk after sliding the chair back in.

She hesitated for a moment before she spoke again. "He did, Sir." She said with a small nod.

He shook his head slightly. "Might I ask you age?" He suddenly said, clasping his hands behind his back. "You seem a little young compared to the age range of women that are usually hired here." He had told the head housekeeper to not hire anyone, regardless of sex, under the age of thirty. Dracula was not the first vampire he had kept in this house and he did not want a younger person to be tempted by the monsters.

"I am twenty-five." She answered with a slight tilt of her head. "I was hired because I… have had experience with vampires. I know what to be careful of and what to watch for." She said with a slightly sad expression.

Abraham wanted to ask her of her experience with vampires, but decided to save that for another time. She seemed saddened by it, and it was far too late in the night. He could always ask the head housekeeper about it, as she wouldn't have let the woman work here unless she knew.

Instead, he gave her a small nod. "Then I trust you will not be so easily tempted by the beast?" He asked.

She shook her head. "The vampire will not be able to tempt me."

"What is your name?" He then asked.

"Elizabeth."

He gave her another nod. "I trust that you will notify anyone if that were to change." He said as he began to walk towards the door, she stepped back out of the office to allow him to exit. "Please tell John that he doesn't need to worry." He said as he shut the door behind them.

She gave a nod. "I will, Sir. Is there anything that you need?" She asked.

"No. That is all." He said and shook his head. She gave him one more nod, before turning and walking down the hall towards John's room.

He turned the other way and headed towards the kitchen, when the door to the basement was. The kitchen was dark and cold, like much of the house would be at the time of night. Various lights could be seen outside the windows, from the guards patrolling. Walking to the door of the basement, he grabbed a lantern off a shelf and lit it, before opening the door and heading down the stone steps.

He stopped at the bottom and drew his gun. The air reeked of blood, the sounds of liquid dripping into the puddle echoed down the halls. Though it was a quiet sound, the stone of the basement along with no noise from the mansion above, only amplified it. His first thoughts were of Mina and Jonathan. He needed to make sure that they were all right, but it was foolish to go and check on them alone. If Mina had given into the thrust, then she would be far stronger than she had already become, and if Dracula had escaped… Reason left him as he turned and raced down the hallway that would lead to where Mina and Jonathan would be.

Nearing Mina's cell, he could see the door handing open, blood splattered from the inside out. He stopped at the door and raised his gun, looking around the cell. He froze at the state of the cell. Blood covered the floor, walls and ceiling. It dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the floor, sliding down the walls and seeping into every split and imperfection in the stone. There were no signs of either Mina or Jonathan.

"By God…" He managed to get out as he backed out of the cell. He flinched when he heard a woman's screech from the upper floors of the house. He turned around and ran so abruptly, he nearly slipped in the blood.

Once he made it to the top of the stairs, he was met with several of the guards from outside rushing into the house with guns drawn.

"Are you injured?" One of them quickly asked while the rest ran to where the woman had screamed.

He didn't answer him as he ran past the man and followed the rest. He stopped at the main entrance to the house with the rest of the men, pushing them out of the way to see just what in the hell was going on. John was kneeling in front of two of the maids, the one from earlier and another of the younger maids. He was speaking to them quietly, while Elizabeth held the other, sobbing maid.

"What happened?!" He demanded once he'd made his way over to the three. The sobbing woman shied away from him and buried her face in Elizabeth's shoulder, her hands tightly clutching the back of the other womans dress.

John slowly turned his head to look at Abraham, before turning his eyes towards the front door. "They found… that." He answered.

Abraham gave him a confused look before he turned his eyes towards the door. He froze, his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. Jonathan's head lay there, on it's side. His eye gouged out, claw marks ripped through the side of his face, a pool of blood gathered around it.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so this was not originally how I was going to write this chapter, but I feel like it turned out so much better than the original. The original was a little rushed in the beginning and I didn't like how it flowed. I killed off Jonathan, simply because I hated writing the few lines he is actually in.**

 **As for the maid that I named, I have decided that she will be a recurring character. I originally didn't have a character like her in this story and wasn't planning on having one, simply because I usually don't like OC characters that play a big role. I just felt, since right now the only main characters are Alucard, John and Abraham, that it needed at least one more constant character. For right now, she isn't going to be that big of a character, and she might never be a big one. For now, she's just what I will use when I want to have a character that is different from the main three. I do have plans for her… I just might not use them.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I have written and rewritten this damn chapter so many times that I think I may have made myself slightly insane. Again, I am sorry about errors and will try and fix most of them in time. The first part of this is Dracula's POV of the last chapter and then it picks up where the last chapter left off. Just in case that it is annoying anyone how I go between the words "it" and "him" to describe Dracula, Abraham is so far, the only character that I use constantly that calls him an "it". When it is Abraham's point of view, that"s what I will use. When it is anyone else's, I will use "him".**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: 9/17/16, 11/13/16, 11/15/16-11/25/16, 11/27/16**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 6:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

Dracula stood, the chains that hung from his wrists scraping against the hard stone and sending a small echo throughout his cell. The smell of fresh blood had drawn him from his thoughts. Though he had been starved and tortured, the scent did not make him to want to feed, if anything the smell annoyed him at best. He smelled werewolf blood.

He could hear the footsteps of three men before they found their way in the hallway that lead to his cell. The light in the hallway was so dim, that he was sure that the men who slowly began to walk towards his cell couldn't see him until they were just a few yards away. Once they had noticed him, they brought up pistols similar to the one that Helsing carried and made their way to his cell.

"Is this the one?" The man in the middle of the three asked, sparing a glance to the other two.

"I do not believe so." The man on the right said, shaking his head.

Dracula stared at them, emotionless and silent. Their voices held German accents and while he had yet to hear the third speak, he was fairly sure that he was also German. "You are either skillful or foolish." He suddenly said, causing the three men to jump and raise their guns higher. "You do not bear the Helsing insignia, nor do your uniforms resemble any that I have seen here so far." His eyes looked past them as another man found his way in the corridor. "You've brought a mutt with you, so whoever your superiors are, don't trust you to do whatever it is you are here for alone."

The werewolf stopped just behind the three men and stared at Dracula with a glare. "Cocky for someone locked in a cell to say." He said, his voice young. His bright red eyes piercing the darkness like a spear through a body. He carried himself as though he were superior, but Dracula could tell that he was far younger that he likely tried to act.

Dracula laughed twice. "You are not your pack's alpha, are you?" He asked as he tilted his head to the right. "You're far too young to be an alpha… Yet, I do not smell other werewolves on you. You are an outcast, one who was seen as useless by your alpha." He grinned. "The way you speak, the way you walk and carry yourself… your smell. It tells me more than you would think." His eyes glanced down to the wolf's left hand, a blood soaked bandage covering it. Most vampires would react violently towards werewolves as they have to compete for food if they are in the same area. _He's trying to cause the vampires here to lose control and become violent. Using his blood to make his presence known sooner…_

The werewolf was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing even more. "This is not the vampire we came for." He turned his attention towards the three men, his voice holding a subtle bite. "Let it rot here."

Dracula hummed as he watched them turn and walk away. His eyes narrowed as he watched them walk away. They gave him the same feeling of dread that he had felt that day, over three hundred years ago, when one of his soldiers had run up to him and announced that the Turks had begun an invasion on his home. The day his first wife had thrown herself from the tower and plummeted into the river below.

He turned away from the door and walked back over to the spot he had been in for the past several months. He looked down at one of his burnt hands and then looked back at the door to his cell, briefly wondering if it would be worth it to escape and kill the three humans and that werewolf. Normally he would kill either for food or because he wanted to, but he almost felt like he had to kill those four, or at least the werewolf.

His eyes turned back to his burnt hand. Slowly he closed his fingers and tightened his grip until he felt his claws tear jagged rips through his palm. "I'd almost forgotten this feeling…" He mumbled to himself. Had anyone been watching him, they might have thought he was talking about the pain that his hand must have been in, but he had been starved so long that he could barely feel what he had just done to himself. It was little more than pressure at this point. He sat there and thought for, God only knows how long before he finally opened his hand and stared at the injury that he'd just given himself. It was barely noticeable given the burnt state of his flesh, but he could see the smallest bit of white that been made to seem much brighter against the previous damage.

His eyes looked up to the cell door when he heard a shout. It had barely been enough for him to hear, so he doubted that any of the humans above him had heard it. His eyes narrowed when he felt a sudden change in his fledgling. The feeling of a fledgling suddenly growing stronger with their first feed was unmistakeable. It signaled that the fledgling was no longer completely his. Slowly he rose to his feet and listened. There was a brief silence before he could hear the growls and hisses of a werewolf and vampire. The air began to fill with the scent of fresh blood and he could tell the moment he smelled it that it belonged to his fledglings fool of a husband. Not even a minutes after that he was sure that he smelled the blood that belonged to those three humans that had been with the wolf.

There was silence as the blood filled the air.

* * *

The feeling of a hand on his shoulder, hesitant and gentle, almost in a reassuring way, is what had torn Abraham violently from his state shock. He quickly turned his eyes to the woman standing in front of him. The maid that had come to check on him in his office stood to his right, her expression worried and her eyes almost fearful as she stared at him. Her name was lost to him as he stared at her. She spoke almost too quietly for him to hear.

She let out a breath in relief before she took another uncertain breath. "Dr. Seward isn't responding to anyone." She said as she took her hand from his shoulder and looked at the frozen doctor.

It was when she said this, that Abraham took in the scene once more. He wasn't sure of how long he had been standing there, staring at the head of his friend, but there was now one of the guards coats covering it, hiding the gore from everyone who stood in the room. The maid that-... Elizabeth, that was the woman's name who stood before him. The maid that she had been holding onto was gone, along with two of the guards who had been in the room. He took a look around, finding John sitting on the bottom steps to the staircase. His eyes were blank, his posture almost defeated looking, his jaw clenched. He was just sitting there, staring at the coat that covered Jonathan's head.

"How-... How long have I been standing here?" He asked as he turned his attention back to Elizabeth.

"Ten minutes?" She guessed. "I-I wasn't watching the clock." She turned her eyes to the floor.

Abraham took a breath, let it out and looked to one of the remaining guards. "You, take her to the servant's house. Gather any other workers that you see and do the same. Once you've done that, find the other guards and check the grounds for any intruders and escort any other servants to safety. If you find anyone who is not permitted to be here, do what you can to take them alive. If they resist or attack, kill them. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir." The man said with a small nod as he walked over to Elizabeth and gestured for her to follow. Elizabeth glanced at Abraham, then John, before she followed the guard.

"The rest of you, go to the basement door and wait for me there." He said as he looked at the remaining men.

"Sir, I do not think it would be a wise idea to leave you two without any protection." One of them said, taking a step forward.

"Do not disobey me!" Abraham barked, causing the man to step back and the rest to flinch. "We do not need protection. Dr. Seward may not be in a state to protect anyone, let alone himself, but I am not and I am more than capable of protecting us both. Now do as I say!"

The men instantly left the room and left the two alone, not daring to speak out against their masters orders, even if it came from wanting to protect the two.

Abraham stared at Seward for a moment. He had no clue what to do in a situation like this. John was the one who handled things like this, not him. He had to have opened his mouth to say something, only to remain quiet for at least five minutes.

"I feel so useless." John suddenly said. He weaved his fingers together and rested his elbows on his knees, looking up at Abraham. "Logically, I know that-that I couldn't have done anything to stop this… But I can't- I don't know how to-" He closed his eyes and took a quick breath.

Abraham could see how hard John was trying to keep it together and he could also recognize the signs of someone about to hyperventilate. He walked over to John and sat down next to the man. "What would you tell me, if I sat there like you?" He asked. John looked at him quickly, his breath still starting to come too quickly, though it did look like Abraham had gained some sort of focus from the doctor.

"What would I-... I would-" He stopped, grabbed his head and leaned over slightly. He took a deep breath, held it for several seconds and without moving from his current position, spoke. "I-I would tell you that you- that you need to calm down so that you do not pass out." He said his voice shaking on every word. "I would-" He let out a small sob. "I would tell you- God!" He sat up and looked at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face.

"You would tell me not to hold it in." Abraham said, casting his gaze to the floor. "Just like you did when we lost the others. When I lost my wife and son. You would tell me to let it out, even when you would refused to. You would tell me that this wasn't my fault…" He let out a raspy cough. "That I couldn't have prevented this…" He gave a small, quiet, sad laugh that died in his throat. "And I would reply with something about how I do not have time to process everything. I would say that we would need to deal with what caused something-" He paused and looked up at the coat, the dark tan material darkening as Jonathan's blood seeped into it. "-like this." Abraham sighed. "In this case, I would be right. Jonathan is dead, Mina is missing and I did not have time to check Dracula before rushing up here."

"I know-" John sniffled. "I know that you hate how I defend Dracula, but this is not-not how he would do this. History tells us that." He closed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. "Throughout the years, he's rarely killed an enemy quickly. He would have made a spectacle out of this."

"Regardless of what I believe, I need to make sure Dracula is still there." Abraham said, slowly rising to his feet. "You're coming with me." He said and he walked off the steps. He turned to look back at John when the man didn't move. "I'm not going to leave you alone here, when we do not know what is going on. Move." He ordered.

"Do not order me around, Abraham. I am your friend and colleague. Not your servant." John said with a small glare as he looked at the other man. "This is not the time for you to act that way. Especially not towards the only living person who stands beside you." John stood.

Regardless of what he'd just said, Abraham knew that John was going to follow him. Despite the man not being able to hold himself together completely, Abraham was right in this situation. It was foolish to be alone when there could possibly be a vampire or multiple vampires loose.

* * *

Once Abraham had given his men their orders on what and what not to do if Dracula was free, he, John and a small group of six other men headed down to the basement. He ordered three of the men to check the rest of the cells while he, John and the remaining men went to see if Dracula was still in his cell.

As they carefully walked down the hall that lead to Dracula's cell, John noticed small drops of blood on the stone steps, slowly seeping into the imperfections in the

floor. "Abraham." He said, almost quietly, as he grabbed onto the other man's shoulder and brought the blood to his attention.

Abraham grit his teeth and looked back to the cell door just meters away. The door looked undisturbed, other than the previous damage Dracula had done. In the low light of the lamps that the guards carried, he could tell that the blood drops stopped before they even got close to the door. Almost like whoever had gone up to it decided against getting closer. He knew that it had to have been Mina. The anger she held towards the vampire would have grown with her first feeding.

But even though she may have decided to just leave Dracula here, or if she decided that even in it's starved state it could still beat her in a fight, why would she have left the rest of the mansion alone? And why would she leave her husband's head for them to find? A new vampire shouldn't be able to control their hunger so easily so soon after turning, and even as a vampire, she wouldn't have left Jonathan's head behind in the manor that she had. She wouldn't, would she? If she didn't, there had to have been another. One who could stop her from going on a massacre.

He was torn from his thoughts when he heard humming. Looking up to the bars in the door, he could see the piercing red eyes staring at him. Dracula wasn't even looking at the four other men with him. The vampire was humming. Whether or not it was a song that it had heard before or it was just something he was coming up with on the spot, Abraham had no clue.

"You were never this quiet when your other companions died." Dracula said with amusement in his voice.

The eyes tilted in a way that told Abraham the monster had its head cocked to the side. Abraham clenched his jaw and glared at the beast. The vampire hunter returning, he took large strides to get closer to the vampire. "What do you know about this, beast?" He growled.

John and the guards followed quickly, the light of their lamps illuminating the vampire's face. Though its voice had held amusement, its face was blank. Dracula had stopped humming after Abraham had gotten close.

"I wish I knew anything about his." Dracula said bringing his hand up to the bars and gently placing the already scorched fingers on the last bar on the left. The silver the metal was made out of, and seals carved into the bars began to burn away at its flesh the moment its fingers made contact, but Dracula didn't move its hand away. It just stood there and watched the flesh burn away. "Then I could torture you. Watch you fumble around as though you had never faced a real threat before." It grinned. "Watch you fumble around like when your wife and child died." Only after Dracula had said this, did the Count look back at Abraham.

Abraham's voice caught in his throat, his shoulders going back slightly.

Something about the way that he said that sounded odd. "Mina." John suddenly spoke up, before his friend had much time to freeze up. Dracula turned his eyes towards John. "Is she how you knew about that?" He asked, almost fighting to keep his voice steady.

"Her, that Quincy human," He paused and grinned at the doctor. "Lucy."

John closed his eyes for a moment. "Are you going to tell me that you did not act the same way when your wife killed herself?" He asked, his voice holding a slight bite.

Dracula's grin faltered but did not leave his face. "No. I did not." He answered with a small shake his his head.

"I suppose that you would not have had to the time to mourn her properly. Being in the middle of a war. Being in the middle of an invasion on your home." John said after a small breath. "Your only thoughts would have been about survival and revenge at that moment. Anguish, regret, shock, disbelief, loneliness. None of those would have been emotions that you would have felt at that time. You couldn't afford to, your people couldn't afford to have a leader in mourning at a time of war, so you locked it away." He paused to see if Dracula would respond, but he only found that the vampire was staring at him. His grin was gone and it appeared as though he was actually listening and thinking about what John was saying to him.

"I will speak with you, human." Dracula announced before John could say anything more. "About the little that I do know."

"So you do know something." Abraham stated with a glare.

"You, I will not speak with." Dracula said as he looked back kat Abraham. "I respect your ability to defeat great monsters, such as I. I do not respect your inability to speak without reacting to my taunting. Amusing it may be, but hearing you speak the same things over and over again have started to bore me." He said, grinning when Abraham's jaw clenched. "You're doing it at this very moment." He tilted his head. " As long as you and those excuses for guards are here, I won't say a thing about what I know."

"I am not going to let you sit here and play your games." Abraham growled, taking another step towards Dracula.

"Then you won't know anything." Dracula whispered, leaning his face closer to the bars. "You think me to be your prisoner, but even from where I am, I can still ruin you and everyone else here. I've said it before, Van Helsing, you've never seen anything like me before. You've never seen Hell before me."

"Abraham."

Abraham had barely even heard John's voice. It sounded distorted and distant, almost… monstrous in a way. He felt his breath quicken and felt a sudden, sharp pain at the back of his neck. Then nothing else around him mattered. The only thing that he was registering was the sharp pain in his neck, but he couldn't bring a hand up. He couldn't do anything, couldn't see or hear anything.

"Abraham!" John yelled as he tried to shake his friend out of whatever frozen state he was in. He stopped when, out of the corner of his eye, he could see a thin line of blood near Abraham's neck. It was so small and hard to see, that at first he couldn't tell what it was. He took in a quick breath when he looked to the floor, the blood that had originally been soaking into the stone had life and taken the form of needles. Each blood drop that had taken shape was aimed at each man that stood there. His eyes slowly turned to Dracula. The vampire looked at him with a small smile. "Wh-"

"Giving him incentive to believe me." Dracula answered before John could even finish the first word in his panicked question.

"Why-Why do you stay locked away, if you can do this?" John asked as he looked at Abraham and the guards. From what he could tell he was the only one who knew what was going on.

"Is that what you really want to ask me?" Dracula asked, tilting his head to the left. "In my state, I can't hold them like this for much longer and when I release them, I'll be done talking."

John forced himself to calm down. If Dracula was willing to let him know what he knew, even if he was essentially holding a knife to their throats and taking their will to move from them, then he had to take it. "What do you know?" He asked a little too quickly for his own likely. He was extremely close to losing his head and that would only make him useless. "What happened?"

"Three humans, one werewolf." Dracula said, finally removing his hand from the bar. John took a quick glance, seeing bone when the Count took his hand from the bar and flexed his fingers. John grit his teeth as he watched the vampire. He'd all but forgotten that he was intentionally burning away his flesh on that bar. The smell of it suddenly hit him and he forced the bile in his throat back down. He knew that, while Dracula seemed to favor him over Abraham right now, the Count was not above trying to scare or intimidate him, even if it meant doing great harm to himself. In fact, that favoritism Dracula currently had towards him might even make his tactics worse.

"The three humans are in the carnage that I can smell down here. Mina has finally fed. The change in her was unmistakeable. I did not hear the fighting of a vampire and werewolf, but did hear only one of them walking. The werewolf. After they went up the stairs and into the house, I couldn't smell them."

Dracula suddenly stumbled backwards, almost falling but managing to catch himself at the last moment. John jumped slightly at the sudden movement, but seeing Abraham and the three guards do almost the same, his attention was taken away from the vampire. "Abraham?" John asked worriedly, putting a hand on the man's arm to help steady him.

Abraham blinked a few times before he looked at John. His breathing slowly and he looked back at the cell door, unable to see the vampire. He pulled his arm away from John and got closer to the door so that he could look through the bars and into the cell. His brow contorted in confusion. Dracula lay on his side, motionless… yet his face held a smirk and his eyes still glowed through the dim cell, staring right at him. "What the hell happened?" He demanded as he turned to John.

"To Dracula or what he did?" John quickly asked even though he knew that Abraham was going to want an answer to both.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah! Horrible place to end that chapter, I know! Writer's block kicked my ass right there of all places!**

 **Reply to Alexis: Thank you for your review, just as I thank everyone else who reviews, but I just wanted to point out that it isn't so much that I'm worried other people won't like it, it's more that I keep coming up with several different scenarios and I can't decide which would be better or which won't screw me over later in the story. Like with the ending of this chapter, I keep deleting and rewriting it, so it might seem a bit choppy or rushed (It may only seem that way to me, since I'm the one going through it so many times).**

 **I would love to respond to everyone's comment, but that would end up making several chapters of just that. If anyone has questions or they write something that I feel I need to respond to, I will.**

 **I am already two days late on when I said I would upload this chapter and so, just like with all of my chapters, I will eventually go through and add more or change a scene. I add the date that I update a chapter so that if anyone wants to go back and find what I changed, they are not having to look through every chapter if I only changed one. Umm… I believe that is all for now.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, I completely forgot that Arthur was even a character until I went back and read over the chapters to refresh myself on what I had written. From what I could find, in the actual novel, he isn't as big of a character as the others. If I am wrong about that, let me know, but as of now I am using that to shape him into something that would work for me. I do like to stay close to the source material with certain things as much as I can.**

 **Having now said that I wanted to keep to the source as much has possible, I am now going to say that I might change the Hellsing storyline, drastically. I originally wanted to go through and continue with the anime storyline, changing various things, but now I think I'm probably going to be changing it way more than I had planned. The reason for this, is because of what I am wanting to do with this story. The actual story in the anime and manga just wouldn't make sense with how I'm wanting to write this. Just a heads up.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: 12/26/16, 12/28/16.**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 7:**

 *** "Speaking"**  
 *** Thoughts**  
 *** Dreaming  
* "Dream Speaking"**  
 *** Memories**

 *** "Memory Speaking"**

* * *

John had refused to speak with Abraham while they were still near Dracula. Through seals, silver, starvation and the harm he had done to himself, he was still capable of doing the things that he did. He wasn't going to risk the vampires anger if Abraham were to say or do the wrong thing. He wondered if the weakness the Count had shown, when he'd collapsed, was the real reason he didn't try to escape. He certainly could if he truly wanted. Even though he said that he'd have nothing to return to if her were set free or he escaped, given the vampires human past, there was no way that he was fine with being a prisoner. Freedom was one of the biggest things that he had valued in both that life and this one. If that was still the case, then John was sure that the vampire was planning something.

"John." Abraham nearly shouted.

John looked over at him. "Right." He said with a small sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the arm of the couch that was placed near the door in the drawing room. "I-... I honestly cannot tell you much." He said with a small shake of his head. "You and the guards just froze. I-I don't know how he did that or how he managed to pull the blood from the floor and form it into… needles. What do you remember?"

Abraham was silent as he listened to John speak and remained silent for several moments as he thought about an answer to his question. Abraham sighed and finally spoke. "It was strange to say the least." He began, looking to the fire at the right side of the room. He looked back at John. "I remember hearing you speak, but your voice sounded so far away and muffled. Then I felt something sharp at the back of my neck, but I couldn't move to see what it was. All I could see were its eyes, then I couldn't see anything. I couldn't move, see, hear, and the only thing that I could feel was that sharp pain on my neck."

"His eyes…" John suddenly said, though he was sure he had said it too quietly for Abraham to properly hear him. He pushed himself away from the couch and began to pace as he thought. "Have you ever heard the saying "The eyes are the windows to the soul."?" He asked as he stopped pacing.

"I hate that saying." Abraham answered with a small nod.

"To me at least, it has always meant that looking someone in the eyes is how you can tell certain things about them. If they're lying for example." He said as he took a few steps closer to Abraham. "But what if it's literal for him?" He asked. "If all he needed to do was look into a person's eyes to do that or more… Abraham, all of those seals and fail safes that we have for him. If he can do something like that, they're utterly useless. If, for some reason, he decides that he does not want to be a prisoner any longer… What about what he did with the blood as well? Can he only do that to blood that has been spilt? Can he do that to blood that is still within our bodies?"

Abraham grit his teeth at John words. Dracula had warned him that there was no other like it. It hadn't just been a taunt that passed through the creature's lips or it's arrogance showing itself. He wondered what else the vampire was capable of while still locked away. It didn't even need to touch him to render him useless… or to even kill him. "We need to place a seal on it's soul." He said with a breath. "That is the only way we might be able to contain it. Even then, even if it were ordered to tell us every power that it has, only God knows if it might awaken new abilities, even after hundreds of years."

"I will send for Arthur then." John said with a small nod. "Both of you know more about the occult than I, so I will probably be useless to you in finding the right seal." He stopped and closed his eyes.

"What is it?" Abraham asked at his friend's sudden change.

John opened his eyes and looked back at Abraham. "Arthur doesn't know what happened here tonight." He explained. "And I'm not exactly sure how I should tell him. If I should tell him when I send for him or when he gets here. He's going to be angry either way."

"Tell him before he gets here." Abraham said with a small nod. "That way at least he has time to…" His voice quietly trailed off.

John only have a silent nod and left the drawing room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Abraham alone.

"Dr. Seward."

He nearly jumped when the voice of a young woman called him. He turned to the right of the hallway to see the maid that he'd sent to check on Abraham earlier that night. He cleared his throat and turned to her fully as she came to stand in front of him. "Yes?" He asked.

She opened her mouth and shut it quickly. "Is there anything that you or Sir Helsing needs?" She asked.

"You seem very eager to please." John said with a small smile. "Even with… what you've just seen."

"I wish that was the worst thing that I have seen." She cast her eyes away from him for a moment before returning them. "Besides, the rest of the maids are nearing hysteria and if I had stayed in our rooms any longer, I would have lost my h-mind."

"Well, if that is the case, where does Abraham keep his telegraph?" John then asked. He knew that the man kept it in his office, but he could also tell that she wasn't exaggerating her statement about the other maids.

"In his office. Follow me." She said with a small smile as she walked past him and headed towards the staircase.

"Forgive me, but I've forgotten your name." He said as he followed the woman, trying to ignore the blood on the floor that had yet to be cleaned up by the door near the stairs.

"My name is Elizabeth Williams." She answered as she glanced back at him.

He gave her a small nod. "If you don't mind me asking," He began. "What did you mean when you said that, that wasn't the worst thing that you have seen?"

She looked back ahead of her and was silent for a moment. "A friend of mine was killed… and I was the one who found her body." She answered, her voice tight. "It… was a gruesome sight."

"I'm sorry." John said as he took a couple large steps to get in front of her. She stopped and looked at him. He shook his head. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right." She cut him off. "You're a doctor, so it's only natural for you to ask a question like that."

"I'm sorry that you were the one to find her. Finding a loved one like that…" He stopped and gave a sigh.

She gave him a sad smile and shook her head. "It is something that no one should ever have to go through, but it happens and while grieving is a necessary part of healing, dwelling on it serves no purpose."

"You know, the way Abraham says that same thing, sounds so much more aggressive than that." He said as they continued walking towards Abraham's office.

She let out a small hum. "A woman's touch?"

* * *

Dracula was less than pleased when he woke. Even without windows in his cell, he knew that he had woken during the middle of the day. Slowly he sat up, finding himself usually stiff. He could imagine the sound hinges made when an old door was opened after years of being shut, as he forced his body to move. His eyes turned towards his cell door, but when he found no one there, he wondered why he had woken up during the day. He should have given into hibernation by now with the amount of damage he had done to himself, and how he had used his powers.

His shoulders went down and back, as he crossed his legs and let his hands lay across his knees.

The air still reeked of blood. Normally it would have been a scent that would excite him to a point, but now, it was only making him sick. He couldn't figure out exactly why that was though. The connection that he should have with Mina, even with her having fed and become a full vampire, was nearly nonexistent, causing his head to pound when he tried to force past whatever was preventing the connection.

After what had to have been two hours, he decided to stop trying. At least for now. There was no point in causing himself more harm, trying to force the connection to become stronger. Especially when there wasn't really anything that he would be able to do with it, should he actually succeed.

He turned his eyes towards the door. That human he had spoken to days ago was now standing there and saying nothing. He cursed himself, feeling a flinch work it's way throughout his body.

"Dracula." John spoke softly when the vampire looked at him. He had been watching the vampire's eyes focus and unfocus, while his face showed some level of confusion, for the last five minutes. It had been two days since Mina's escape and Jonathan's death. He had, surprisingly, been able to get Abraham to grieve with him some. The man had been locked away in his study ever since, refusing to let anyone other than Arthur enter. Arthur had returned to the mansion earlier that morning. It had worried John that he did not seem to show much grief towards the news that two more of their friends had been lost to them. The mans response when asked why worried the doctor even more. "I expect it at this point."

"You confuse and interest me, human." Dracula said, tilting his head to the side slightly. "I have caused you and those you care for, so much grief and agony. Yet… when I look at you, when I smell you, I can find nothing that would tell me you wish me harm."

"We cannot choose what we feel. Sometimes we cannot even choose how we react to a situation." John said as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Our bodies react before our minds are able to process anything. Instincts take over and reason is lost." He shook his head. "You scared me, when you did what you did to Abraham and his men… but I felt that I knew you wouldn't do anything. Logically, I should hate you. I should want to kill you myself at this point. Yet, there is something inside of me, something that doesn't wish you any ill will."

Dracula was silent for several short moments. "Tell me something, human," He said as he sat up straight. "Do you believe that, regardless of how far someone goes, how much death and destruction a person has created, do you believe that even someone such as that, can be saved?"

John gave him a slightly confused look. "Why do you ask?" The vampire had already said strange things, but that was probably one of the strangest. Did he wish to be saved?

"Do I have to have a reason beyond curiosity?" Dracula asked with a small shrug.

"No." John said and shook his head. "But you do have one."

"It is refreshing to hold a conversation with someone who holds some level of intelligence." The Count said as she pulled himself to his feet, gritting his teeth at how hard it was to move. He now recognized that it was rigamortis, and because of this, didn't get closer to the door. "Answer my question and you will know my reason for asking it."

John sighed. "Yes." He said only a moment later. "I do believe, that even if someone has gone that far, has spread so much pain and suffering, that they can be saved."

"You are foolish to believe so." Dacula said as he shook his head slowly. "There is no saving someone like that." There was a detachment to his voice.

"Why?" John then asked. "Do you think that because you don't think you deserve it? That you don't deserve something beyond chaos and death?"

Dracula smiled. "I know I don't. That, however, isn't the reason why I say that." He walked towards the door and stopped when he was near, trying to ignore the protest his body gave at the movement. "As for why I asked, that is why you do not have ill will towards me. If you believe that no matter how far someone goes, that they can be saved, then that explains it. You want so badly, almost more than you want to live, that everyone gets another chance."

"If that is a foolish thing to want, then I will continue to be a fool until the day I die." He said with a small shrug.

Dracula continued to smile as he watched John. He was one of the more interesting humans he had come across in years. For such a logical man, he still held a great amount of faith in those around him. Even when those around him include one of the most dangerous monsters in the world. "This world has been lost for centuries. No matter how hard you try or wish it to be different."

John sighed, but he didn't challenge the vampire on his statement. "You said that you were giving Abraham incentive to believe you. What did you mean?" He asked.

Dracula gave a quiet hum. "He believed that he had won. That I was no longer a threat, as long as I stayed in this cell. He had a chance to win, back in Romania, and he let it me live. He won't get that chance again."

"Do you plan to kill him?" John asked after a moment. The way he spoke, John knew that he had probably wished that Abraham had killed him. That the man had ended his time on Earth and sent him to the next stage. The vampire probably despised the idea of suicide and wanted to die in battle, like many from his time did.

"Oh, not at all." The vampire shook his head.

"Then what do you mean he won't get that chance again?" John asked, his voice tight. Dracula didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked towards the back wall of his cell and sat down. John watched him for a few minutes. "You value your sanity, correct?"

Dracula chuckled. "I haven't had my sanity for centuries." He said as he tilted his head.

John hummed slightly. "No." He said and shook his head. "You do have something wrong with you in your mind, that I won't dispute. But you can still grasp reality. Vampires, like humans, are social creatures to a point, and you no longer have a colony. There is a high probability that Abraham will end up locking you away, alone, for as long as he can." He explained. "Social creatures cannot live alone. In other animals that live in groups, isolation can result in several things, most notably death. In humans, vampires, werewolves and other humanoid creatures that live in groups, we will eventually lose our sanity. In some cases, we can become feral and won't understand anything that goes on around us."

"Then, Doctor," He drew out the title. "If I haven't lost my sanity, what have I lost?" He asked.

"A lot of things." John answered as he looked down. "Hope, faith, love, joy, a sense of purpose." He paused, looking up again. "You've lost your mother, brothers, the woman you loved, your sons and daughter. You've lost all reason to live." Dracula stared at him as he spoke, his brow furrowing slightly. "I had a patient several years ago. He had lost his wife in childbirth with their second child."

"Why are you telling me this?" Dracula asked.

John didn't answer him and continued. "Several years later, when his children were nine and six, there was a fire at his house. He was pulled out of it, but his children hadn't been found until the blaze went down." Dracula had looked away by this point. "He had a mental break and ended up at my institution. When I had finally been able to bring him back from his delusions, when I had managed to get him to face reality, he attempted suicide." John sighed and paused. "Three days later, when he had woken up from this attempt, I asked him why he did it. He looked at me and said 'If you take away a man's children, you have truly given him nothing left to live for."

"Why are you telling me this?" Dracula asked again, looking back at the human. "My children were alive when I choose this."

"You didn't think they were." John answered, shaking his head slowly.

Dracula let out a breath through his nose, smirking at the man before him. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"I have two theories when it comes to your choice." John said, gaining a head tilt from Dracula.

"You've reduced my existence to two theories?" Dracula questioned, amusement in his voice.

"Yes." John replied. "First, if you thought your children dead, then you would have wanted revenge for, not only their lives, but for your first wife, perhaps even your second as well."

"What of the second?" Dracula asked when John didn't continue.

"You were a prisoner with no way to protect what little you had left." John began. "Your sons would have most definitely been killed and your daughter, while she would have likely been killed as well, might have also been given away as a war prize." Though it was slight, John could see Dracula's jaw move ever slightly as the vampire grit his teeth. "You would have done anything to protect them or to avenge them."

"With your second theory, I wouldn't have lost my children." Dracula pointed out.

"Yes, you would have." John gave him a sad smile. "You were a Catholic, you would have raised your children to be Catholics. How could you have faced your children as what you became? As one of the most unholy demons. How could your sons look at you as the fierce warrior that they had known, how could your daughter look at you as the one who had protected her and her siblings, when what you became…" He trailed off.

"By that logic, they would have understood my choice." Dracula said after a moment of silence.

"Humans as a whole are very illogical creatures." John pointed out. "Besides, you never saw them again after you became a vampire."

"What makes you say that?" The vampire asked, his voice emotionless.

"You said yourself that you were amazed at how long Mina lasted, not giving into the bloodlust. Most vampires cannot control themselves when they first turn. That's why when faced with one, it is better to face one who has had years of experience. That way they have control over themselves. There is no doubt in my mind, that if you had been an inexperienced vampire, we'd all be dead."

"Do you have a point to this winded explanation?" Dracula asked with a sigh.

"You would have been afraid to hurt them, so you left." John answered. "There are stories of carnage in the following weeks after your execution. Stories of a monster slaying the people of Romania, known then as Wallachia, as well as the Turkish. After the war had ended, there were various stories of a monster in Hungary and Austria doing the same." John stopped to look at Dracula, who in turn only stared back at him. "These stories did not return to Romania, until around fifty years later, after all of your children had died and your castle had been abandoned."

Dracula let out a small laugh, which only seemed to come out as a small huff of air. "I will admit that I have underestimated you. You are far more perceptive than I originally thought. Far more of a scholar than Helsing is."

"Does that mean that you are admitting that I am correct with the base of my theories?" John then asked.

Dracula smirked. "You may never know. Time ages history far worse than it does humans."

John nodded. "Perhaps. Might I ask what does Zaleska mean?" The human asked. "It seems to be a very uncommon name even in your country." Dracula said nothing as he watched the man. That's when John saw it. For a brief moment, there was confusion in his eyes. It was so dark in the cell, that if the vampire's eyes didn't glow, he would have missed it. He almost did miss it. "You don't remember, do you?"

They both watched each other for several more minutes, both of them wondering if the other would speak and break the silence. In the end, John excused himself and left the vampire alone in the basement. He walked back to Abraham's office and stopped as the door opened, Arthur stepping out of the room and looking at him.

"I was just about to come and retrieve you." He said as he stepped back into the room and held the door open for John to walk in. He shut the door behind the doctor and walked back over to Abraham's desk, where the man was currently writing in one of his journals.

"Have you found out anything that will help us?" He asked, not looking up from his journal.

"If you actually look at me when I speak to you." John said, his arms crossed. Abraham sighed and looked up at the man. "Most of what I observed you wouldn't think important, so, before I waste my breath, will you take into account what I am going to tell you?" He asked.

Abraham eyed him for a moment, before giving him a small nod.

"When I first got down there, he seemed to be having difficulty concentrating on something. I don't know what it was, but he might be trying to find Mina himself." John began. "I also learned, that he wanted you to kill him."

Abraham gave him a confused look. "Why would it want that?"

"Humans and vampires are not so different, Abraham." John answered with a shake of his head. "He's been alive for over four-hundred years. The people that he actually cared about, died long before now."

"Why wouldn't he have turned them?" Arthur then asked.

John turned his eyes towards him. "I believe that he didn't want to force this kind of life on them."

Abraham sighed. "John, I understand your need to know more about it's human life, but we need to find out what happened to Mina."

John looked at him. "Well, I could always go back to the hospital and leave you with a vampire that doesn't want to speak with you." He stated, anger working it's way into his voice. "Your approach did nothing, Abraham. He respects, or he did respect the way you handle things to a point, but he respects people like me more so."

"Why do you come to that conclusion?" Arthur asked with a small tilt of his head.

"I can see things in him, that neither of you can and it's catching him off guard. Normally he doesn't have to worry about people seeing through him, so he doesn't have the best defenses when it comes to people like me." John explained. "Even though I can't make conclusions on most of the things that I speak to him about, I can get a general idea."

"Like what?" Abraham asked, resting his elbows on his desk.

John stood there as he thought. "Women for example. I spoke with him about this. With how brutal he had been with women in the past, as far as punishments go, I originally thought that he despised them. The more I looked into his human life, the more I began to change that thought. There is no record of who his mother was and his father was known to have many mistresses. Even if his father's wife wasn't his mother, he viewed her as such and it was the way his father treated her that he despised."

"Why would he punish the women so horribly then?" Arthur asked. "Would it not make more sense to punish the men?"

"Unless those women abused him." John responded. "He was brutal towards men as well, but he reserved the worst of it for warriors. We know so little of his life before he was twelve. Even after that, there is still so much missing from history. Most of what I am saying to him, I'm guessing at best. So far, it appears that I am mostly correct in my assertions."

"How would those woman get away with abusing him?" Arthur asked.

"His father didn't care about him." Abraham answered, pulling the man's attention to him. "He traded his sons for his own freedom and Dracula was probably a bastard."

"Exactly." John said with a small nod. "He was known to be a very defiant prisoner as well. He probably tried to pull negative attention away from his younger brother, who had been traded with him."

"What else did you learn?" Abraham asked.

"I told him about the patient I had who lost his children in a fire." He began. "It was slight, but he seemed to respond to that. He could have other reasons for becoming what he is now, but I think that might be a factor." He paused. "He couldn't seem to remember what his daughter's name meant."

"Do you think that is significant in some way?" Abraham asked.

"Yes." John answered with a nod. "It tells me that he can't remember things from his human life, however small they may be."

"Most people that I know, don't know what their children's or their own name means." Arthur spoke up.

"The farther back we go into history, the more we find people who name their children specifically for what the name means. Dracula's first name, Vlad, for example, roughly means 'ruler'." Abraham said. "His second son shares his first name. I don't know what Mihnea or Zaleska means."

"The only thing that I had found was the according to some Mihnea is the Romanian version of Michael." John supplied.

"Do you think that he could have forgotten what his sons' names mean?" Abraham then asked.

"His first son maybe." John said with a shrug. "I've been trying to push things about his first wife and daughter the most."

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"Men are naturally more protective of women." He stated. "That, and most of his fledglings were women, but most of them shared a certain look."

"You're right." Arthur stated after a moment of thought. "Most of them were rather young, raven haired, pale…"

"Except for his Brides." Abraham announced. "They seemed closer to his age as a human and their hair was a light brown."

"He was choosing women who reminded him of his daughter and wife?" Arthur asked, looking to John.

"I believe so." The doctor answered.

"Mina and Lucy looked nothing like them." Arthur then stated. "Why did he target them specifically? There were other women in the area who would have matched the description of his wife and daughter."

"I don't know." John said, shaking his head. "It is one of the things that I am trying to find out. You and Abraham are looking for answers, but the answers you are looking for might be hundreds of years old."

Abraham sighed and ran hand down his face. "Do you believe, without a doubt, that we can benefit from you learning more from his human life?" Abraham asked.

"I do." John said with a nod.

"Then I will have to trust your judgement on this." Abraham stated as he closed his journal, placed it into his desk and stood.

* * *

 **A/N: "Take away a man's child, you have truly given him nothing left to live for." is a quote from one of my favorite movies ever, Zombieland, which should go without saying, I do not own that movie or quote.**

 **In Hellsing, we don't see a whole lot of Alucard's life other than what happened when he was a kid, some fighting and his death, so I am adding a lot into this. I will get into the whole Millennium plot line eventually**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't really have anything to say other than if this seems a little repetitive I did that for a reason.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions to Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality. Religion. Religion Bashing.**

 **\- Written: April something, 2017**

 **\- Edited:**

 **\- Chapter 8:**

 *** "Speaking"  
*** _ **Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

The following days, Dracula had been left alone in his cell. He had almost expected to find that human standing at the door until he noticed him, simply because of how persistent he had been. While he did enjoy being able to hold a conversation with someone who wasn't so easily taunted, he was grateful for the silence that greeted him when he had woken and that continued into the following days. He had tried to ignore what had been said to him, what he had been asked… but he found it hard to think of anything else. He hadn't thought back on most things in his human life in centuries, and the more he thought back, the more he realized that he couldn't remember anymore.

The meaning of his daughter and first sons names, the color of his wife's eyes, what he and his younger brother would do in the little free time that they were allowed… They were small things, things that he probably wouldn't have even tried to think about again.

Then there were bigger things that he found he had forgotten. Each time he had found out that he was to be a father, holding each of his children for the first time, his mother's face, what it felt like to stand in the sun.

Most things that had brought him even the slightest joy in his human life… it was as if they hadn't existed at all, and for the first time in hundreds of years, he realized that the only things that he could remember clearly, the only things that he could focus on, was everything that had ever gone wrong. From his father and his father's whores, his father just handing him and his brother over to the Turks, the death of his first wife, his brother's betrayal! The Sultan!

John stopped walking towards Dracula's cell at the sound of growling coming from within. He stood there for several long minutes, wondering if Dracula's glowing red eyes would appear at the door, staring at him. He tilted his head slightly when there was nothing. He could still hear the growling coming from the vampire's cell, and at first, he had been sure that he was what the vampire was growling at. He waited there for another minute before he got any closer to the cell.

Looking through the bars on the door, John stared at the vampire as he continued to growl at seemingly nothing. He opened his mouth to speak but then decided against disturbing the vampire at this moment. Instead, he turned and walked back towards the stairs of the basement and went back into the house.

"What happened?"

He turned to the right as he came out of the basement. Arthur stood there with one of the maids standing next to him.

"He was growling," John replied. "I thought it best not to disturb him yet."

Arthur gave him a somewhat confused look. "Was he growling at you?" He asked as he waved the maid off. She gave him a small nod and left.

"I don't think so." The doctor answered with a shake of his head. "I think whatever he was thinking about is why he was growling. He didn't seem to realize that I was there." He paused. "What were you doing?" He asked.

"Coming to find you," Arthur answered. "Abraham and I believe that we may have found a way to bind Dracula's powers."

"You don't seem thrilled with what you found." John pointed out, crossing his arms loosely. Arthur looked tired and conflicted with what he had just told him.

"Let's go back to Abraham," Arthur said and turned, walking away. John followed him. "We can explain it to you together."

John followed Arthur back to Abraham's office, where the man currently had at least twelve books scattered about his desk. Half of them were open and sitting on top of the closed books. Abraham looked up for a brief moment when they entered.

"Arthur tells me that you've found a way to bind him." He stated.

"We have." Abraham nodded, leaning back in his chair. He looked up at his friends. "It… isn't anything good." John looked at Arthur, then back to Abraham. "It is pure evil." He said with a sigh, running a hand down his face.

"Well, what is it?" John asked both men when Abraham didn't continue.

"The only ritual that we have found, that is anything close to what we were searching for, is to summon a demon and bind it," Arthur explained. "We believe that if we alter the ritual is various ways, that we may be able to use it on him."

"This is an experiment then," John said, crossing his arms again. "I know little about the occult, but from what I do know, altering rituals has never led to anything but chaos and destruction." When neither man spoke again, John did. "How can you be sure that altering this ritual won't kill you, kill him, or summon something far worse?"

"We don't," Abraham answered with a shake of his head. "However, we haven't found anything about binding a vampire, and we need to find Mina. Dracula's bloodline is stronger, faster, they can venture out into the sunlight, among many other things. We cannot let one of his bloodline roam."

"I believe Dracula would agree." John announced after a moment of silence.

"Why would he?" Arthur asked, looking at the doctor.

"He's already said that he's had to kill the ones he's turned before." John began. "He doesn't want his bloodline causing needless damage."

"We're assuming that Mina went willingly." Arthur pointed out. "He did tell you that while Mina had fed, he only heard one leave. He said that it was the werewolf and we don't have any evidence that Mina was killed or that she's still here."

"Where does that leave us then?" John asked.

"Do you think that you could get him talking again?" Abraham asked. When John nodded, he continued. "We need to know what he knows about werewolves. He'll have a better understanding of how they live than we do."

John gave him a small nod. "While I hate to admit it, and while I can get him talking, he is unlike any other person that I've spoken to before."

"He's a vampire, John," Arthur said as he shook his head slightly. "Not a person. Not only that, vampires are known to be manipulative."

"This is something that I know and have been told several times now. It's more than just manipulation." John was silent for a moment. "He can easily recognize the ways that I would normally use to get someone talking. Psychological warfare is his specialty."

"You've not been attempting psychological warfare." Abraham pointed out. "You are the only one who is trying to understand him from a doctor's perspective."

"That could be part of the problem," John said, slight irritation in his voice. "It does not matter that I'm not trying to fight with him." He sighed. "For over four-hundred years, his life has been constant fighting, both physical and psychological. He simply doesn't know how to understand when someone isn't going against him. You are not helping this."

"To be honest, we do have ulterior motives." Arthur pointed out, gesturing to John.

"I won't say that we don't, but those are not my only motivations for this." The doctor said, shaking his head slowly.

"You've been getting through to him on some level." Abraham began.

"Because he wants me to," John said, stopping Abraham from saying anything further. "He has not revealed to me anything that could be used against him. Asking what his daughter's name meant was a stroke of luck, that I had no way of knowing he would have forgotten. The things that could be used against him, he hasn't revealed and I'm unsure if he ever will, even though I have no desire to use those things to hurt him."

"What about you, Abraham?" Arthur said when the room fell into silence. The man looked at him with a raised brow. "You and he seem to have some common experiences."

Abraham grits his teeth and glared at him. "For now, I will excuse the line you stepped over." He ground out. "As far as what I assume you're talking about, Dracula doesn't wish to speak with me and will only resort to insults and mind games."

"He's right, Arthur," John said, gaining the man's attention. "However, I might be able to use that," He turned to Abraham. "With your permission."

"He already knows of my life, John." Abraham said, looking away from his friend.

"He knows of your life because of Mina, Lucy, and Quincy, all three of them did not know the full extent of what was going on." John took a step towards Abraham. "They were not here like I was."

Abraham looked over to him. "You are sure that this will work?" He asked after a moment.

"No, I'm not." John said with a shake of his head. "Everything that I try with him is a theory at best, but I could see his guilt when I brought up his children, his wife… The only things in his human life that had brought him happiness. Vampires hold onto such negative emotions, and most would have completely forgotten what happiness is like after a hundred years. He still remembers what happiness is like after over four-hundred."

"What makes you think that?" Arthur asked.

"He wouldn't feel guilty or dismal when speaking of them if he couldn't remember." John answered. "Even if his memories are fading." He paused. "In fact, I think that might be why he was growling when I went to see him earlier."

"What do you think that could mean?" Abraham was the next to speak up.

"He asked me if I thought that someone could still be saved after going as far as he did." He crossed his arms loosely. "He called me foolish for believing that it was possible." He tilted his head quickly to the side, before then bringing it back up. "He could have just been trying to throw me off, but with how he acted towards my questions and observations about his children, I don't think he was."

"You believe he wishes to be saved?" Arthur asked, his brow furrowing. "After everything that he's done?"

"I know he doesn't." John answered. "He doesn't think he deserves it, and maybe he's right. However, there is a difference in not believing that you deserve to be saved, and refusing to be."

Arthur sighed and leaned back against the table near the window. "I don't follow."

"He believes in redemption." The doctor clarified. "He still carries with him genuine human emotion. Most of his kind do not feel anything other than lust, anger, and apathy to name a few. I've seen no evidence of the type of lust that vampires are known for, I've seen the anger in him, but it is not towards everything and everyone, he appears to be apathetic, but I do not believe that he is nearly as apathetic as you believe." He explained, moving his hands as he spoke. "I believe he is still able to feel regret, loneliness, envy, and despair. Probably other human emotions as well."

Abraham sighed, then gave John a small nod. "Very well."

"I will return if anything changes." John said with a small nod as he turned and left the two men.

"I still believe that we should have told him that you've contacted Aleister Crowley." Arthur said, walking over to Abraham and standing in front of his desk.

"There is no reason to until I know if he will be willing to work with us or not." Abraham said with a shake of his head. "That man is not trusted throughout England and John wouldn't allow him near Dracula if I told him now."

"Do you think he will if he agrees to help?" Arthur asked with a raised brow. "I doubt that he will appreciate being left in the dark like this, Abraham."

"There is a good chance that he will decline." He said as he stood. "If he accepts, then I will be able to discuss with him our plan of binding Dracula. If all goes well-"

"Which most of the time it does not." Arthur said, cutting him off.

"-then he will not so much as see the vampire." Abraham finished.

"I doubt that he will agree to help you unless he can, Abraham." Arthur insisted. "That man is not in his right mind in the slightest."

"I did not say that he was." Abraham sighed, running a hand down his face. "However, he is far more familiar in ceremonial magic than either of us."

Arthur sighed and shook his head quickly. "Because it has consumed him." He hesitated before he spoke again. "This appears to be consuming you. I do not want to see you become what that man is."

Abraham sighed. "Arthur, you can leave if this bothers you."

The two men stood there in silence, staring at each other. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Yes." Abraham called past Arthur. He looked past the man as the door opened and one of the maids walked in.

"Sir, you've received a letter." She said, holding up the envelope with a red seal on the front of it. Abraham gave her a small nod, causing her to walk over to him and hand him the letter before excusing herself.

"Is that from Aleister?" Arthur asked, recognizing the seal from the small glimpse he had seen before Abraham had taken it from the maid and opened it.

"Yes." The other man responded as he read through the letter, not even sparing his friend a glance.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello! So, I'm not 100% back yet and I feel like this chapter shows that. Between the death in my family and my moving around the country, I am not sure when I will be updating regularly again. I am not happy with this chapter, but if I don't put it up now and get around to editing it later, I will never get it up. To me, this chapter feels more like when I first started writing anything in sixth grade and it makes my eye twitch with annoyance.**

 **This chapter IS going to be edited later but it does have the general idea of how this chapter will be when it is fully edited and fixed.**

 **As usual, sorry about mistakes.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the manga/show, would I be writing this? The correct answer is no.**

 **\- Rated: M**

 **\- Warnings: Gore. Language. Sexual Situations (Never sex, I do not write porn.). Mentions of Rape and Attempted Rape. Abuse. Child Abuse. Mentions of Child Abuse. Death. Horror. Mental Torture. Insanity. Mind Games. Self-Harm. Attempted Self-Harm. Suicide. Attempted Suicide. Murder. Depression. Anxiety. Homosexuality.** **Religion and Religion Bashing** **.**

 **\- Written: Ehh, for the last two months?**

 **\- Edited: Haven't gotten there yet.**

 **\- Chapter 9:**

 *** "Speaking"  
*** _ **Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking**_

* * *

"Vlad."

His head snapped up to the bars on the door. John stood on the other side with an emotionless expression on his face.

He narrowed his eyes at the human and tilted his head to the side. No one had called him that in three-hundred years, so having heard it now had thrown him off a bit.

"Why did you call me that?" He asked after a moment of silence. John obviously wanted him to choose if he would speak with the man or not.

John shrugged. "It's your name." He answered. "Dracula was a title, not a name and I have never been fond of calling someone only by their title." He paused. "Especially when it is a title that they didn't earn, but were given."

Dracula smiled slightly. This human was too much fun to speak with.

"As usual, John, you continue to be my favorite human here."

John raised a brow at his first name being used. "Well, I already knew that." He said with a nod. "What does Dracula mean? I've found two translations. Is it Son of the Dragon or Son of the Devil?"

Dracula hummed. "That part is up to you." He answered. "As a human, other humans tended to lean towards Son of the Dragon, I protected what was mine with a ferocity that none had ever seen in a human before." He chuckled. "I, after becoming the monster I am, have always preferred Son of the Devil."

"Yes, well, you gained your title because your father was Vlad II Dracul, or, Vlad the Dragon. One of the highest members of the Order of the Dragon, the order he indoctrinated you into as a child that was too young to understand it's purpose."

"I knew what that order was."

"Knowing something and understanding it are two different things. I know your bloodline is the most powerful we have ever seen, quite possibly the most powerful to ever live, but I do not understand it." He shook his head. "Children are far more perceptive than adults realize, but they often do not understand the true meaning of things." He smiled sadly. "Abraham's children would have no doubt been this way."

Dracula narrowed his eyes. "Whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish by bringing that fool's spawn into this conversation, refrain from speaking of them." He shook his head. "I do not care about whatever connection that you are about to try and make between the two of us."

"You're both fathers who lost their children."

"No, I am a father who ensured my children's survival, while he is one that failed in his duty to his." He sat up and leaned against the wall. "I am a father who fought wars to defend what is mine and he is one who slaughtered children to get to me."

"Children that you had turned." John pointed out.

"Children that I saved." He leaned his head against the wall. "None of you ever thought about who any of them were before you killed them or why I turned them. Vampires or not, I felt their fear and pain when they were being struck down. I remembered all of their names, their human's lives, what brought them to me. Humans are not above supernatural creatures just as we are not above you.

Vampires are not only turned, they are born as well. It is the same with werewolves, demons, angels, shapeshifters are only ever born and they are born only to human parents, fairies, ghouls, banshees, sirens, succubi, incubi, gorgons, all of these are beings that your allies would kill without a second thought. It may be true that many of them feed on humans, but you do not care to find out if the ones you kill are innocent or not."

John was silent for a moment. "You're right." He gave a small nod. "None of us can change the actions of our past, but we can choose how we act now. Abraham and Arthur may be set in their ways, I'm not. I'm willing to learn and to change, but I cannot do that if I do not know what I am looking for."

Dracula stood and walked towards the cell door. "What are you implying, John?"

"Abraham and Arthur are planning to bind you so that you cannot do any harm without permission. I will not lie and say that I've tried to stop them, but they are planning on altering a ritual to bind and summon a demon."

Dacula laughed."They'll sooner summon a leviathan or kill themselves than figure out how to correctly alter such a spell."

"Probably." John sighed. "However, I do not want to use this spell as a way to control you fully as they do. I believe that with you at our side, we can stop the senseless bloodshed of both human and supernatural origin."

"You are asking a former warlord to stop the bloodshed?"

"No."John shook his head. "As long as humans and creatures such as you exist, there will always be bloodshed. Be it among ourselves or by our own doing. You are also not a warlord for a love of combat and destruction. You became one because you are a protector through and through. You do not appreciate unnecessary death among any creature even if you enjoy killing."

"You sound as though you are making a proposal of some kind."

"I am."

Dracula raised a brow and stepped closer so that his face was inches from John's, the bars being the only thing separating them.

"I'm listening."

"Like I said, Abraham and Arthur will try and find a way to bind you regardless of anything I do or say. I wish to seek a partnership with you rather than an ownership over you. Should Abraham and Arthur figure out how to bind you, Abraham will have you bound to our bloodlines. "

"Having a creature such as I bound to more than one bloodline can have disastrous consequences." He tilted his head slightly.

"I figured as much." John gave a small nod. "I can't stop them from doing it, however. Either I let them bind you to my bloodline as well or I don't, and if I don't then you have no potential allies in this and I have to sit back and watch Abraham use you how he wishes." He paused. "As you know, Abraham is not above torture, and while I have no doubt that you are strong enough to withstand whatever he does to you, you will have little to no free will when it comes to him."

"And I would with you?"

"Yes."

Dracula was silent for several moments before he spoke. "You are quite an interesting human." He hummed. "What would our partnership entail?"

"I won't let you attack without reason, but I won't treat you as though you are something to be controlled and owned. I will even give you permission to kill me if you feel threatened by me in any way."

Dracula chuckled. "If I were to kill you, then what would stop Helsing from exacting revenge for the death of another friend?"

"I cannot answer that." He shook his head. "The way he lives his life, he'll be dead long before I am. It is the same with Arthur."

Dracula stared at him for what felt like several minutes.

"You are a true rarity among your kind, John."

"So are you, Vlad."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he stepped away from the cell door. He let out a quiet hum and then spoke. "I... agree to your terms."

John smiled. "Will you aid them in altering the spell?"

"No." He shook his head. "I am no warlock and have never performed any type of magic. No black magic user would be willing to help you either." He sat on the ground.

John sighed. "There... is one. Aleister Crowley has been contacted."

Dracula looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "I have met him before."

"What?" John's eyes went wide.

"He has traveled the world, John. He came to Romania in search of me two years ago, just before I left and we all had the pleasure of meeting each other. I met with him, hated him, and" He chuckled. "and probably the only one to strike fear into his heart. Darkness can be a wonderful tool of torture to those who fear that is what death is."

"He's afraid of the dark?"

"Not the dark itself. He fears that there is nothing after this life. That one day he will close his eyes and see nothing but pitch black nothingness forever." He paused. "I have no doubt in my mind that he has agreed to come here, even if it is only to get revenge for what I did to him. Tell Van Helsing to contact a man by the name of Frederick Walsh in the United States, in Virginia. He will know where to find a woman by the name of Grace Sherwood."

"Who are they?"

"Frederick is simply an intermediary. Grace is a witch that does not use black magic. You will need Aleister to alter the spell and Grace will check over his work to ensure that he is not trying to alter it in a way that none of you want. She is also a witch that specializes in healing and will be able to help should something go wrong."

"A witch that does not use black magic?"

"Don't look so surprised, John. Most witches and warlocks are not beings of evil." He smiled. "Grace is... one of the few humans that I respect."

"That name sounds familiar to me."

"She is a witch that was arrested for witchcraft and convicted in seventeen-o-six. She was released four years later."

"How is she still living?" John asked with a curious expression. "That was a hundred and ninety-four years ago."

"Witches and warlocks live far longer than regular humans." He answered. "Witches who do not practice black magic naturally live longer for various reasons that she is better equipped to explain. She is two-hundred and forty years old and is at the end of her life. She is, as I call them, a true witch. She did not trade her soul for her powers and was born with them instead. I have only ever met two other true witches in my life."

"Do you think that she would be willing to answer some questions for me? About her powers and her life?"

Dracula chuckled. "Ever the scholar." He nodded once. "She is willing to answer your questions, that I know for certain. She despises when people make assumptions about her kind."

John nodded. "I will tell Abraham about her. Aleister will be here sooner than she will be and I will try and have Abraham hold off on the ritual until we find her."

"As long as I do not end up bound to that fool, I do not care how long it takes or who comes here first."

"Oh," John said and reached into his pocket. "I thought you may want this." He held up a small, leather book and set it on its side between the bars and placed a small pencil next to it.

"Why?"

John shrugged. "Something to occupy your time with. I'll come back when Aleister has arrived."

Dracula watched him leave and then turned his eyes to the journal with a thoughtful expression.

* * *

 **A/N: Check back in later to see if I've fixed myself yet.**


	10. AN 2

**A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that I am working on editing the next chapters for all of my stories, except for A Brother's Promise. I have been having writer's block with this one and am currently starting the next chapter. I am also posting a new story, a Skyrim/Avengers crossover, that I've had in the works for a few months now, something that I was working on between my other stories. I have a good few chapters finished and I'm just going through and editing it. It is a story where I like to get my readers more involved in, so if that's something anyone is interested in, go check it out. It's called After the Prophecy.**


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